He is the former Grand Slam champion who has coached Learner Tien to Next Gen success

Learner Tien has joined an exclusive group of players after being crowned the new Next Gen ATP Finals champion.

Tien is already a one-time winner on the ATP Tour, emerging victorious on the indoor hard courts of Metz earlier this year.

But the American ace, who is 28th in the world rankings, opted to take on the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.

And it proved to be a fantastic decision from the 20-year-old, who beat Alexander Blockx to lift the trophy.

Michael Chang coaches Learner Tien to Next Gen success

Playing a key role in the success was Tien’s fellow American and former ATP number two Michael Chang, who is part of his coaching team.

Chang enjoyed a fantastic career of his own, triumphing at the French Open back in 1989 for his one and only Grand Slam title.

He remarkably enjoyed that success in Paris aged 17 years and 109 days, representing the youngest male player to win a major championship.

Following that, Chang reached three more Grand Slam finals, but lost out to Thomas Muster, Boris Becker and Pete Sampras.

It’s a superb success for Tien for more reasons than one, primarily given his heartbreak at the event last time.

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He reached the final of the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals, but narrowly lost out to fellow rising star Joao Fonseca.

Analysing his redemption alongside Hall of Fame member Chang, Tien said of his coach: “I don’t feel like he’s a coach that says a lot during matches.

“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.”

Along with his $502,250 prize money, his title means he’s the third top seed to win the event after Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz.