A young tennis player from Southern California experienced an emotional homecoming at Indian Wells this weekend, competing on the same court where he once sat as a young fan.
Learner Tien, 20, from Irvine, defeated fellow American Ben Shelton 7-6(3) 4-6 6-3 during Sunday’s third-round action at the desert tournament. The victory held special significance for the rising star, who attended the event as a child.
“The court I played on today, I remember exactly where I was sitting in that same stadium when I was a kid, so it’s really cool, it’s a full-circle moment for me,” Tien explained after his win.
During his match on Stadium One under bright California sunshine, Tien couldn’t resist looking toward his old viewing spot. “From where I was sitting on the bench, it was to my left, in the corner. I remember those seats. I remember a lot of it still,” he recalled.
The 25th-seeded player credited his Southern California upbringing for his tennis development, noting the region’s strong tennis culture and year-round playing conditions.
“There’s a lot of tennis, a lot of tennis courts, a lot of tennis players, and a lot of parents putting their kids into tennis programs,” Tien said. “There were a lot of tournaments around. I wouldn’t have to travel that far most of the time, and it wasn’t that hard to find open courts. I consider myself pretty lucky to have grown up in this area.”
Despite facing the eighth-ranked player in the world, Tien acknowledged the challenge presented by Shelton, who was battling illness but still brought his powerful serve and aggressive groundstrokes to the match.
“Tricky match, for sure. Going out there, I heard that maybe he wasn’t feeling that great. So it wasn’t super surprising to me that he was just taking big cuts, he was going for a lot of balls. Just overall a tough match to navigate,” Tien said.
“I think I played the match without having a whole lot of rhythm, just because of how big he was playing. I also felt a little bit of the nerves in some of those points. But just happy to get through.”
The victory improves Tien’s record against top-10 opponents to 6-5 in his career. His next opponent will be Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, currently ranked 19th in the world.
