SEPT 25 - 27, 2026 | LONDON
Learner Tien has been quick to learn. In just two years on tour, the 20-year-old has gone from promising young prospect to established member of the world’s top 15, winning two ATP Tour titles, the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals, reaching the Australian Open 2026 quarterfinals and, most recently, making his deepest Masters 1000 run with a semifinal appearance in Montreal. His rapid rise has taken him to a career-high No.12 – and now to his first Laver Cup.
“It’s incredible,” Tien said. “I remember watching the event since the first year it started. I was probably 11 or 12. But always, always watched it through the years.” Little did he imagine that, less than a decade later, he would get the call from Captain Andre Agassi and Vice-Captain Patrick Rafter to be part of Team World alongside teammates Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Bublik and Tommy Paul.
“It’s super surreal to be playing this year,” he said. “It doesn’t come around too often where you’re playing for more than yourself. The opportunity to play on a team is something I never try to take for granted. There’s always a little extra pressure when you feel like you have other guys depending on you.”
The first chapter
Tien picked up a racquet as a toddler and won his first tournament at just five years old, initially coached by his father, Khong, a Vietnamese refugee. By 16, he had graduated high school and won the USTA Boys 18s National Championship, earning a wildcard into the US Open. He later spent a semester playing college tennis at USC before committing fully to the professional game.
His run to the Australian Open 2026 quarterfinals announced Tien on the biggest stage, particularly after he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round for the second consecutive year. The ranking climb has followed, taking him from promising prospect to No.12 in a remarkably short period. His goal is to go one step further: into the top 10.
“I don’t really have a deadline on it,” he said. “This is my second year on tour. I’m trying to improve … I think there’s a lot of things in my game that can still get much better. I feel like I’m constantly evolving as a player, and I think that this early in my career, I’m more concerned about the growth I’m taking.”
A left-hander with a stubbornly effective baseline game, he combines speed, anticipation and court coverage with a willingness to make opponents play one more ball. “I think I make my opponents really earn points,” Tien said. “I don’t give things up too easily. I pride myself on problem-solving my way through matches very well. My greatest strength is going out there and just competing.”
Calm under pressure
Tien says his calmness under pressure stems largely from his personality. He has always been level-headed, rarely allowing himself to get swept away by strong emotions.
“I don’t go too far up, too far down,” he said. “It just happens to work for me.”
That attitude could serve him particularly well at Laver Cup, where the individual nature of tennis gives way to team camaraderie, support and a great deal of pressure to put points on the leaderboard.
“I really enjoy playing in a team environment,” Tien said. “It’s not often that tennis players get to play in a new environment, and I myself always feel like I’m able to rise to the occasion.”
He will also have the chance to learn from two legends of the game. Tien has met Agassi and Rafter before but has not spent much time with either.
“I’m really excited to hear what they have to say,” Tien said. “Maybe how they kind of see my game. I think it would just be an amazing experience.”
Tien is coached by Michael Chang, the former world No.2 and 1989 Roland-Garros champion, and credits the partnership with strengthening his self-belief.
“I would really say he’s helped me to believe in myself,” he said.. “That stems just from the work being put in, from the improvements we’ve made together. I’ve shot up the rankings since we’ve started working together. I think he sees my game very well.”
Tien has never been interested in copying a single blueprint for success. Instead, he watches, listens and takes what works from many, a trait that will stand him in good stead at the Laver Cup.
“I’ve always felt like I’ve been good at not having an ego taking things from other people,” he said. “I’m always willing to acknowledge the fact when someone does something better than I do. And, I have no issues copying them or taking stuff from what they do.”
Now comes the next lesson: Laver Cup. At The O2, Tien will experience the noise, the team environment and the unique intensity of a competition he has watched since he was a kid.
“I think I have a lot of expectations for how exciting and how crazy it’s going to be there,” he said. “I’m really excited to debut.”
