Match Report
Learner Tien tops the class at Next Gen ATP Finals
20-year-old American defeats Belgian Blockx
December 21, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Learner Tien in action on Sunday in Jeddah.
By Sam Jacot
Learner Tien continued his rapid rise on Sunday in Jeddah, where he lifted the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF trophy to further cement his status as one of tennis’ most exciting young stars.
In a largely one-sided championship match at the prestigious 20-and-under event, the American defeated 20-year-old Belgian Alexander Blockx 4-3(4), 4-2, 4-1, avenging his runner-up finish at the event a year ago in Saudi Arabia.
“I’m super happy,” Tien said about his 2025 season. “I was able to check a lot of boxes that I wanted to this year. I had a pretty long list of goals I wanted to hit, and I was able to get most of them. I’m really happy.”
The title run earned Tien $502,250 in prize money and saw him become just the third top seed to capture the title, following in the footsteps of Stefanos Tsitsipas (2018) and Carlos Alcaraz (2021).
Twelve months earlier, Tien had fallen in a four-set final to Brazil’s Joao Fonseca. Since then, the left-hander has gone from strength to strength. During an impressive 2025 campaign, he claimed his first ATP Tour title in Metz, notched five Top 10 victories, and surged to a career-high No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Tien will now look to build on that momentum in 2026, beginning at next month’s Australian Open, where he made headlines last year by becoming the youngest player to reach the fourth round in Melbourne since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Tien had coach Michael Chang by his side this week and will have the American with him when he travels to Australia.
“I don’t feel like he’s a coach that says a lot during matches,” Tien said of Chang. “But when he feels like I need to hear something, he’s never shying away from telling me, and I think that helps me a lot.”
In front of a lively crowd at King Abdullah Sports City, Blockx made an assured start, landing all 21 of his first serves in the opening set. Yet even that level proved insufficient against Tien’s composure, as the American seized on a handful of loose forehands to edge the first-set tie-break and seize control of the match.
From there, it was one-way traffic, with Tien too consistent and dominant in the baseline exchanges to earn victory in 58 minutes. The lefty crucially saved two break points when serving for the match at 3-2 but was largely untroubled on delivery.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match… I don’t think he missed a first serve for the first set and a half,” said Tien. “I think he’s been playing great, so I’m just really happy to get through.”
Learner’s redemption moment 🏆
Tien takes care of Blockx 4-3(4) 4-2 4-1 to claim the title!
⁰#NextGenATPFinals pic.twitter.com/88RnPxLI0K— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) December 21, 2025
Earlier this week, Tien suffered a surprising opening round-robin defeat to Rafael Jodar before he responded against Martin Landaluce. He then beat Nicolai Budkov Kjaer in four sets to reach the semi-finals and quickly dispatched countryman Nishesh Basavareddy to advance to the title match.
Despite his final defeat, Blockx can take plenty of positives from a standout week in Jeddah, where he recorded wins against Justin Engel, Basavareddy, Dino Prizmic and close friend Budkov Kjaer.
“I’ve had a lot of fun this week,” said Blockx. “Everything was amazing here — the organisation, the staff… I think it’s one of the best events I’ve been to and the crowd today was amazing, also.”
Ranked No. 116 in the PIF ATP Rankings and a two-time ATP Challenger Tour champion in 2025, Blockx also made history as the first Belgian to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals. While he had beaten Tien in the 2023 Australian Open boys’ singles final, the American reversed that result when it mattered most on Sunday.
Did You Know?
Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz are among the former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champions.
