'You’ve shown what a talent you are': Jannik Sinner hails young Learner Tien after Beijing final

Jannik Sinner celebrated a new title this Wednesday by defeating Learner Tien 6-2, 6-2 in the China Open final. The Italian was in the Beijing final for the third consecutive year and successfully reclaimed the title, which he had lost a year ago to Carlos Alcaraz.

The World No. 2 now boasts 21 career titles and his third title of the season, adding to the trophies he won at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. Sinner had been defeated in his last two finals played (Cincinnati, US Open), both against Alcaraz. This time, his opponent was the surprising 19-year-old Tien, who was playing in his first ATP final and was filled with praise by Sinner.

The young American had one of the best weeks of his career, defeating Francisco Cerúndolo, Flavio Cobolli, Lorenzo Musetti, and Daniil Medvedev along the way. The victory over Musetti, in particular, was his 5th against a Top-10 player this season, placing him only behind Sinner and Alcaraz in that statistic during 2025.

Sinner praises finalist Tien: "You're playing incredible tennis"

During his awards ceremony, Sinner quickly offered praise for his colleague. Despite the lopsided score—in which Tien only managed to win four games in one hour and 14 minutes—the four-time major champion congratulated Tien on his great week in Beijing. "It’s a very special place for me but I would like to start with Learner and your whole team," said Sinner. "I know you have a great team behind you. You’ve shown throughout the whole season what a talent you are. Keep going. You’re playing incredible tennis,"

"I wish you all the best for the rest of the season and obviously for your whole career, hopefully we can share more moments like this in the future.”

"We will try to improve and push as much as we can"

Sinner, as is traditional, also thanked his working team, even though not all of them traveled with him to Beijing. "My team, thanks for understanding and working. Not all the team is here. Hopefully the rest is watching from home," the World No. 2 stated. "All the people who I have around are very honest people. Thanks for working with me. We will try to improve and push as much as we can. Let’s see how the end of the season is gonna look. I’m very happy to share this with all of you. Thank you so much."

Sinner still has work ahead in the final months of 2025 and will quickly travel to Shanghai for his next tournament. He is scheduled to debut at the final Masters 1000 of the season on Friday against Daniel Altmaier. Following that, he is committed to playing the Vienna Open two weeks later, the Paris Masters, and the ATP Finals.

Learner Tien grateful for Beijing crowd support

On the opposite side, Learner Tien expressed his gratitude for his week in Beijing, where he received mass support from the public. The American, the son of Vietnamese parents, is currently coached by former World No. 2 Michael Chang—the 1989 French Open champion and winner of 17 career titles. This was his first time competing in the Asian Swing: “It’s been a great week. I’ve loved it here.”

“Every thing has been great ever since I got to China. This is my first time. I’m trying to take everything in. It’s been amazing so far. I’m super happy. Everyone’s been so welcoming since I’ve come here. I’m really grateful for all of you,” the 19-year-old player added. “Congrats to Jannik on a great week, another title. It was great to share the court with you today. Good luck for the rest of the season.”

Tien will receive a significant boost in the rankings, having climbed 16 positions to currently sit as the World No. 36, with a strong chance of ending the year in the Top-30. He is now preparing to travel to Shanghai, where he will debut against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanović.