Challenger
Tien, Fonseca among talents who rose from Challengers to Slam breakthroughs in 2025
American, Brazilian both began season outside Top 100, now inside Top 30
December 16, 2025
Paul Crock/AFP via Getty Images
Learner Tien smiles after his dramatic five-set victory against Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open.
By ATP Staff
One exciting part of every season is discovering which emerging talents step into the spotlight on the sport’s biggest stages. ATP Challenger events have long been a launching pad for such emerging talents before they rise to stardom, and in 2025, several competitors translated their Challenger success into breakthroughs at the season’s four majors. ATPTour.com highlights five players who embodied that rise.
Learner Tien
After a standout Challenger campaign in 2024, when the American posted a 35-9 record at that level with three titles, Tien quickly transitioned to the highest level of pro tennis. He made a splash at the Australian Open where as a qualifier ranked No. 121 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Tien reached the fourth round. One of his Melbourne highlights came in the second-round when he stunned three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in a five-set thriller.
Tien, then 19 years old, became the youngest player to reach the fourth round in Melbourne since Rafael Nadal in 2005. He also became the second-youngest American man to advance to the last 16 at the season’s first major, behind Pete Sampras, who reached the same stage aged 18.
“This exceeded my expectations from what I was hoping for coming into this week,” Tien said in Melbourne. “You go into every match believing you can win but being in the second week is amazing.
Joao Fonseca
Fonseca has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the Top 25 of the PIF ATP Rankings. His first tournament of the 2025 season was the Canberra Challenger, an event that he dominated by not dropping a set en route to the title. He became the second player, alongside Jannik Sinner, to win his ensuing event following a triumph at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
The Brazilian, who also won the Challenger 175 event in Phoenix in March, reached at least the second round of all four majors this year. His best Slam run was a third-round appearance at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. In Melbourne, Fonseca shocked ninth seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets, which marked the teenager’s first major main-draw win. After beginning this past season at No. 145 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fonseca enters 2026 as World No. 24.
August Holmgren
It was a July to remember for the Dane, whose Grand Slam breakthrough intriguingly came before his ATP Challenger success this season. In the first half of the year, Holmgren tallied a 3-10 Challenger-match record, but he flipped his season on its head with a Cinderella-esque third-round run at Wimbledon.
Holmgren, then No. 192 in the PIF ATP Rankings, saved three match points in his third-round qualifying clash against Yosuke Watanuki and again saved three match points en route to upsetting 21st seed Tomas Machac in the second round of main draw. Two weeks after Wimbledon, Holmgren lifted the trophy at the hard-court Granby Challenger.
“The key was to keep my momentum from Wimbledon going,” Holmgren said. “I had a very strong concept of who I wanted to be as a tennis player and the challenge was to continue with that on another surface.”
August Holmgren” style=”width:100%” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/07/03/18/38/holmgren-wimbledon-2025-thursday.jpg”>
August Holmgren celebrates his upset victory over Tomas Machac at Wimbledon. Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Coleman Wong
The 21-year-old made history at the US Open, where he became the first ever player from Hong Kong to win a major main-draw match. Then World No. 173 and a qualifier in New York, Wong lived out a dream by reaching the third round. Wong, who is still seeking his first Challenger crown, forced 15th seed Andrey Rublev into a deciding set before bowing out of his first major main-draw appearance, one that he will forever remember.
“It’s a big moment for me, and also for my family and for Hong Kong people,” Wong said in a feature published on usopen.org and ATPTour.com.
Jacob Fearnley
The Briton made the third round at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros — hardly a surprise for those who followed Fearnley’s ATP Challenger results in 2024. Last season, Fearnley held a 27-3 season record on the Challenger circuit, including four titles. He became just the third player to finish a season with a win percentage of 90 per cent or greater (min. 25 matches played).
Fearnley ousted some big names en route to his third-round runs in Melbourne and Paris. In Australia, Fearnley downed home favourite Nick Kyrgios in the opening round — the same round in which the Briton defeated 2015 Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka in Paris. Then, Fearnley spoiled the French hopes of Ugo Humbert in the second round of the clay-court major.
