Learner Tien, the tennis student schooling the masters of the sport<\/p>\n
A second-generation immigrant of Vietnamese descent, education was naturally an important pillar in Tien\u2019s upbringing, even if he gravitated more towards tennis rather than any school subject.<\/p>\n
It explains his name, inspired by his mother\u2019s job as a teacher and the value of learning, while his sister, Justice, takes her name from their father, a lawyer. \u201cAn attorney seeks justice. A teacher seeks a learner. They were virtuous names,\u201d Tien\u2019s dad, Khuong Dan Tien, told the Los Angeles Times<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n On his academic background, Learner tells us, \u201cI was a pretty good student – I was homeschooled for most of my life. My mom was an English and math teacher, so she was obviously pretty tough on me and always pushed me pretty hard in those subjects, but I never really had a love for anything in particular.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not like I loved school, or it was super enjoyable. If I didn’t end up playing professional tennis, there isn’t one subject that I would really want to pursue. I don’t think my grades were that bad, I think they were pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n Tien discovered his passion for tennis when he was five years old, and although he was pushed more in the academic realm than the sporting, it was on the court that the Californian flourished.<\/p>\n Indeed, it is remarkable that, at just 19 years of age, Tien is set for his fourth consecutive appearance at his home Slam. That does not come from coincidence.<\/p>\n