Tien, Jovic, and Fritz: Southern California’s
2026 Australian Open Standouts

Southern California tennis is thriving, and the Australian Open showcased the region’s depth of talent. Irvine’s Learner Tien, Torrance’s Iva Jovic, and Rancho Santa Fe’s Taylor Fritz all reached the fourth round in Melbourne, demonstrating that the next generation of SoCal players is ready to compete on the sport’s biggest stages.

Deja Vu for Learner Tien

Twelve months can change everything in tennis. 

A year after grinding through qualifying as a relatively under-the-radar teenager, Learner Tien returned to Melbourne Park as a seeded player for the first time in his career and a serious threat. He reached the Australian Open fourth round for the second year in a row, confirming a rapid rise that has turned early promise into growing expectation.

Last January, Tien entered the tournament ranked No. 121, making his first Grand Slam main draw appearance outside the US Open. His run made instant headlines when he stunned then-No. 5 seed and three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev in a nearly five-hour, five-set marathon that ended in a fifth-set tiebreaker at 2:54 a.m., becoming the youngest man to reach the fourth round in Melbourne since Rafael Nadal in 2005.

One year later, the circumstances could not be more different. Now seeded No. 25, Tien arrives in Melbourne with momentum and confidence. His path back to the fourth round included a composed straight-sets win over Nuno Borges, 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-2, setting the stage for a highly anticipated rematch with Medvedev. For the second consecutive year, the two will meet in Melbourne, and Tien has the chance to topple Medvedev once more on the very same court where he pulled off his legendary upset 12 months ago.

With the win over Borges, Tien once again made history, becoming the youngest American man in the Open Era aged 20 or under to reach back-to-back Australian Open Round of 16s.

“I think just getting to play more matches at this level has been really big for me,” Tien told the press after his win over Borges. “In general, I feel like everything has gotten a bit better. I think I’m more mature player. I think I handle a lot of these matches a lot better.”

Tien’s pro journey began on home soil with the SoCal Pro Series, a $15,000 ITF/USTA Pro Circuit circuit featuring top up-and-coming players—from junior phenoms to standout college competitors. Competing for ATP points against peers grinding to move up helped him build toughness, sharpen his game, and gain the confidence that propelled him onto the ATP Tour and toward his Melbourne breakthrough.

What started as a first-time meeting has quickly grown into one of the tour’s most compelling new rivalries. Tien leads their head-to-head 2-1, with a statement win in Beijing after the Australian Open last year before Medvedev struck back in Shanghai. Medvedev has acknowledged he “probably” didn’t take Tien seriously enough when they first crossed paths.

“Now, no underestimation,” Medvedev said ahead of their fourth-round meeting.

Since that breakthrough victory, Tien’s trajectory has accelerated. He captured the Next Gen ATP Finals, reached his first ATP final in Beijing, claimed his maiden tour-level title in Metz, and climbed to a career-high No. 26 in the world. His growing comfort in best-of-five-set matches and success against elite competition has reinforced that his early Melbourne magic was no fluke.

This evolution coincided with a pivotal addition to his team. Midway through last season, Tien brought former world No. 2 and 1989 Roland Garros champion Michael Chang into his camp, forming a Southern California connection that has already paid dividends. 

“I think I’m better all around,” Tien told ATPTour.com. “I wouldn’t say I’m playing drastically differently, but the year’s worth of experience has been good for me.”

Chang, who previously coached Kei Nishikori, was drawn to Tien’s potential and competitiveness, and their partnership is rooted in shared experiences as two talented Asian Americans who grew up in Southern California, shared the same faith, and thrived as standout juniors. For Tien, the connection carries added meaning: Chang was one of his idols growing up, making the opportunity to learn from him both full-circle and deeply personal.

“I think he’s actually more gifted than I am, as far as shot making,” Chang told Ben Rothenberg of Bounces. “But I feel like, in certain aspects, maybe I’m able to share some of my experiences that he has yet to attain.”

While Chang’s presence has sharpened Tien’s all-court game and competitive instincts, those qualities were evident long before their partnership began. Growing up in Southern California, Tien regularly shared the court with established pros such as Thousand Oaks’ Sam Querrey and Orange’s Steve Johnson, another former USC standout—both now co-hosts of the podcast Nothing Major—absorbing the pace, patterns, and professionalism of the tour at an unusually young age.

After his third-round win, Tien visited ESPN, where Querrey was at the desk. Footage rolled of a young Tien hitting with Querrey in Carson, a reminder of the early spark that hinted at the player he would become.

“Sam and I started hitting with him maybe when he was 12 or 13, and he’d always just be either on one side or in a corner,” Johnson said. “Even at that age you could just tell that there was something different because our ball didn’t affect him the way it would most 12, 13 years old kids. His timing was incredible.”

By his mid-teens, Tien was holding his own in baseline exchanges with tour veterans, laying a foundation that would translate seamlessly to the sport’s biggest arenas.

Still, it’s easy to forget just how young he is. Tien briefly attended USC before turning professional, while many of his peers are still navigating college tennis. Instead, he is now traveling the world, competing weekly against the game’s elite and helping lead an incoming generation of young stars on the ATP Tour.

“I’ve always just thought if I just focus and work on the things that need work, that the results, the ranking, all that will come,” Tien said.

That philosophy has produced deep Grand Slam runs, marquee matchups, and growing expectations. His second straight fourth-round showing in Melbourne was not a breakthrough, it was a confirmation: Learner Tien belongs, and his ceiling remains high.

Iva Jovic’s Breakout Australian Open 

Friday also marked a breakthrough day for one of Southern California’s brightest young tennis stars on the women’s side. 18 year old Iva Jovic stunned Italian No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 7-6(3), to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time. The straight-sets victory marked her first Top 10 win and extended her 2026 tour-leading streak to 10 matches.

For Jovic, the win carried extra significance. Paolini had beaten her twice in 2025, at Indian Wells in front of her home crowd and at the US Open, leaving the young American determined to rewrite the script.

“It feels amazing, I’ve been working really hard for it,” said Jovic post-match. “I’ve been wanting this one for a while now. I had a couple of tough losses. I’m just so happy to get through that barrier and get the win today.”

The Torrance native honed her game at Southern California’s iconic Jack Kramer Club, soaking in the competitive SoCal tennis culture from an early age. She also gained her first professional experience an the SoCal Pro Series, where she made her first WTA pro point and reached the finals of the 2022 Los Angeles event. Those early events gave her crucial confidence and helped catapult her onto the WTA tour.

“I tried to focus on what I was doing earlier in the match, being really aggressive and controlling the play,” she added. “I think when I served for the match, I got a little too passive. So I told myself to go out swinging and it helped in the tiebreak.”

Her confidence on court has also been shaped by unique mentorship opportunities. In her press conference, Jovic revealed that she had been given some “very attentive tips” from former ATP World No. 1 Novak Djokovic the day before her match. 

“Just to open up the court a little bit better, to not rush into the shots all the time, find some more width,” she explained. “So I tried to do that, and it ended well. So I’m just going to try to keep listening to Novak.”

Jovic first met Djokovic during last year’s Wimbledon, a chance encounter facilitated by USTA coach Kathy Rinaldi. “We were practicing on the indoor courts at Wimbledon and he just walked in to a court close to us. His son was playing, and Kathy was like, ‘Let’s go up to him right now!’ I was like, ‘Kathy!’” she recalled with a laugh. “He just wished me luck and told me to keep working. It was kind of just a little bit of an introduction…There was nothing super specific said but just the way he talks, he has a thing about himself where you can tell that he’s great. Not even seeing him on the tennis court, he has that presence, which is super cool.”

“It’s pretty insane,” Jovic added of her recent interactions with Djokovic. “You always think about those moments where you’re going to meet your idols a little bit, and I think sometimes for certain people it can be a little bit deflating if they are maybe not as nice or as open as you anticipated. I think that happens a lot of times where you kind of see, ‘Oh, wow, that’s definitely not how it looks like on TV.’ I think he’s almost even kinder and even more attentive outside the cameras than what he’s portrayed! I mean, he’s so intelligent and smart and really wants to help the younger generation. So I’m really grateful to have that advice. Hopefully I’ll speak with him more.”

Heading into the Australian Open, Jovic sat at a career-high No. 27 after finishing runner-up at the WTA 250 event in Hobart. Her run to the fourth round has already boosted her projected Live WTA Ranking to No. 22, and a win over 94th-ranked former world No. 20 Yulia Putintseva could push her into the top 20 and into her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

“Obviously I had hopes to start the year well, but you never know when everything is going to click,” Jovic said. “It’s really nice to get results this early, and hopefully I can keep winning. Maybe Djokovic will even be watching.”

Southern California’s AO Trio

Tien and Jovic’s journeys reveal a shared Southern California DNA: both learned to compete with older, stronger players early, developed mental toughness on the local circuit, and transitioned smoothly into pro-level competition. 

Adding perspective and experience to the group is Taylor Fritz, the most established active Southern California player on the ATP Tour. A former US Open finalist and current top 10 player, Fritz embodies the region’s tradition of producing complete, all-court players. His rise mirrors the same Southern California foundation that shaped Tien and Jovic, from local courts and junior tournaments to collegiate play and full-time professional competition.

Seeded No. 9 in Melbourne, Fritz reached the fourth round with a four-set win over 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, firing 30 aces in the match alone, a clear sign he is carrying over his 2025 form, when he led the ATP Tour with 867 aces. To match his 2024 quarterfinal result, he will face No. 5 seed Lorenzo Musetti next. Along the way, Fritz has showcased punishing forehands, aggressive baseline play, and a massive serve, hallmarks of the SoCal tennis style.

While Tien and Jovic represent the rising wave of young talent, Fritz provides experience, perspective, and a model of excellence for the next generation. Together, the trio illustrates the depth of Southern California tennis, where local clubs, competitive junior programs, and mentorship opportunities continue to produce players capable of deep Grand Slam runs. From Torrance to Irvine to Rancho Santa Fe, the region’s tennis ecosystem is producing a new generation of stars—talented, resilient, and ready to compete with the best in the world.