Learner Tien won the ATP championship for the first time

Tien was down 1-5 in the tie-break of the deciding set, but still played confidently to turn the situation around and win the biggest victory since the beginning of his career. Tien will enter the top 30 in the world for the first time, becoming the first American teenager to win an ATP Tour event since Andy Roddick did so in 2002.

After finishing runner-up at last year's Next Gen ATP Finals, Tien is on a strong rise in 2025. The left-hander has five wins over Top 10 opponents, then reaches his first ATP final. 500 in Beijing, where he lost to Jannik Sinner. Just playing three more tournaments, the 19-year-old tennis player became the ATP Tour champion, at Metz.

"This is very special for me ", Tien said after winning the championship. "I've accomplished one of my big goals going into the season. This is the last week of the season, so it means a lot. Being in the top 30 means I'll be seeded at the Australian Open next year, which is like an added bonus. "

Defeating Norrie for the third time in four encounters, Tien is the youngest winner of the Moselle Open, since Djokovic won the throne in 2006. Player no. 27 world Norrie, with a reverse loss in the third set tie-break, became runner-up at the tournament for two consecutive years.

Tien was born on December 2, 2005 in the US, whose parents are both Vietnamese. His family lives closely, with two children named after their parents' occupations. Mr. Khuong is a real estate lawyer, Ms. Huyen is a math teacher. After winning the championship in Metz, Tien was asked what he would do if he did not follow tennis, but followed his parents' career. "I would probably be a failure. I've never really been serious about anything else, so maybe I'm quite lucky to have found tennis, " the 19-year-old tennis player said.

Tien became well known after defeating fifth seed Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open in early 2025, when he was only ranked 121st in the world. After that, Tien defeated other strong opponents such as Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Medvedev himself again. At Metz, Tien was also not seeded, but won five matches in a row to win the championship.

"Honestly, I'm still trying to believe that everything is real, " Tien said on November 8. "I still can't believe it. During my whole week in Metz, I never once had dinner or lunch outside the hotel. I only ordered food to my room, and ate the exact same thing every time. Maybe tonight I'll do something a little different ".