‘Tis the season for graduation and, although Irvine’s Learner Tien remains committed to the 2024 SoCal Pro Series, his results from its first two weeks – two singles titles, one doubles title – suggest a professional tennis promotion from $15,000 Futures tournaments to regular ATP Challenger Tour competition can’t be too far off this summer.

After taking off last week, Tien returned for the SoCal Pro Series’ concluding event in San Diego County, perhaps to the chagrin of the draw. Tien, 18, extended his 2024 SoCal Pro Series singles mark to 11-0 after dispatching SoCal Pro Series Week 3 semifinalist Patrick Maloney, 6-2, 6-2, in Wednesday’s first round at the $15,000 ITF World Tour/USTA Pro Circuit event at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club.

It sets up the most anticipated match of the 2024 SoCal Pro Series, to date, in Thursday’s second round. Tien – the winningest player in the SoCal Pro Series’ two year-plus history with three singles titles and two doubles titles; all achieved within the last year – will match up against Week 3 SoCal Pro Series champion, Oliver Tarvet.

The University of San Diego’s No. 1 player and a rising junior, Tarvet downed Rancho Santa Fe resident Ethan Schiffman, 6-2, 7-6 (7), in the 20-year-old Englishman’s second USTA Pro Circuit start.

For now, Tien plans to conclude his SoCal Pro Series stay with one or two singles events in Los Angeles County, but his big-picture sight is set on becoming the first to win three consecutive singles titles at the USTA Boys’ 18 National Championships (hardcourt), Aug. 2-11 in Kalamazoo, Mich. Winning that comes with a main draw wild card into the US Open, which Tien has played the past two years.

“I do have one more Kalamazoo, so that will kind of be my priority and I will just kind of build my tournament schedule around that,” said Tien, who drew 2022 US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe in the first round of the 2023 US Open. “It was really cool to play on (Arthur) Ashe (Stadium Court). It was a good experience so I’m hoping I can make it back this year.

“I’d obviously look to progress. It’s not something that’s really conscious in my mind when I’m playing these tournaments, about trying to feel like I have to make it out of the 15K level. I’ll probably reevaluate after this swing of tournaments.”

Former UCLA standout and Torrance resident Karue Sell knows what young, ATP Tour-caliber talent looks like at a collegiate age. After all, he counted Marcos Giron (ATP No. 53 ranking), Mackie McDonald (ATP No. 76) and Max Cressy (ATP No. 182; No. 31 world ranking in August 2022) as teammates during his time at UCLA from 2012-16.

“I’ve been around top-100 players and I think he has the caliber to play at that level,” Sell said of Tien, who beat Sell in the SoCal Pro Series’ Week 1 final. “I think he’ll get through this Futures level pretty quickly. He’ll get through these (SoCal Pro Series events) with hopefully no injuries, and he’ll start playing a lot more Challengers, and I think we’ll see him in the top 100 in the next few years.

“I used to hit with him, full out. He was 12 and I was 24, and I could just hit with him, like normal. He’s kind of a bit, maybe, similar to Mackie (McDonald) – really clean, a good mover, a really high tennis IQ.”

San Diegan Alafia Ayeni has faced Futures- and Challenger-level pro competition over for the past nine years. From his loss to Tien in their Week 2 final, Ayeni felt Tien played at a level befitting someone world-ranked around 180-200 and that he would be “extremely surprised; I’d be shocked, honestly” if Tien continued to play $15,000 Futures events beyond this summer’s SoCal Pro Series.

“I think he has a high ceiling,” Ayeni said. “I think that he has a very bright future and I see him on the ATP Tour in a few years. Maybe even next year. I didn’t know much about Learner except that, obviously, he’s a very good tennis player. He doesn’t miss. He raises his level when he needs to.”

Pacific Beach resident Trevor Svajda, the 2023 USTA Boys’ 18 National Championships runner-up (to Tien), defeated fellow 18-year-old Alexander Frusina, 6-3, 6-2, in his first $15,000 Futures match since he played on the SoCal Pro Series in June 2023.

Svajda has seen his ATP world ranking vault from No. 1,484 a year ago, while on the 2023 SoCal Pro Series, to No. 1,192 to begin 2024, to his current mark of No. 671.

He identifies a January $50,000 Challenger Tour victory in Indian Wells over past ATP Tour top-50 player Tennys Sandgren, an ITF World Tour/USTA Pro Circuit $25,000 Futures title in Calabasas in March, and a quarterfinal berth in a $75,000 Challenger event in May as benchmark moments in his rise.

Fresh off his freshman season at SMU, Svajda is making a 2024 SoCal Pro Series this week before he leaves for England on Monday in preparation for the Wimbledon (junior boys) Championships, beginning July 6.

“This past year is my biggest progression. I definitely know my level is there,” Svajda said. “It was definitely nice to get a few wins here (SoCal Pro Series) last year under my belt against some pretty good players. I think that helped for college. I didn’t have many matches really played under my belt (in 2024) so college definitely helped me there because you’re playing, like, two matches a week, almost. I got a good experience out of that. I definitely matured.”

Svajda competed in 2023 US Open qualifying, then advanced to the third round of the US Open junior tournament after defeating 2023 Wimbledon junior champion Henry Searle. He knows his best chance for a return trip to Flushing Meadows is one last return to Kalamazoo to take that crown from Tien.

“That was the greatest experience,” Svajda reminisced about his US Open experience. “My match for the qualis … I wasn’t even on a very good court but it was still just flooded with people. I had a good win in the juniors, beating the Wimbledon champion. All around, it was amazing. Definitely hoping to go back, so getting ready for Kalamazoo.”

This week’s SoCal Pro Series venue also serves as Jacob Brumm’s training base – two minutes from home, by his estimation, and where his coach, John Chanfreau, is also the tournament director.

The eighth-seeded Rancho Santa Fe native and Torrey Pines High School graduate registered a 6-2, 6-1 first-round victory over Torrey Pines High senior and wild card William Kleege. Brumm, 25, meets Nathan Ponwith, last week’s SoCal Pro Series runner-up, in Thursday’s second round.

“Last year was a good learning experience. I felt a lot of pressure last year, with so many people there supporting me,” Brumm said. “I’ve played in front of a lot of big crowds in some Challenger events this year. I’ll be ready. I’m super pumped. It’s, hopefully, a great week.”

Johannes Seeman, who finished his NCAA career at San Diego State this spring, and Wally Thayne, a Newbury Park native who wrapped up his junior season at BYU, advanced to Thursday’s men’s doubles quarterfinals after a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over third-seeded Brits Adam Jones and Matthew Summers.

A doubles specialist seeking a first professional ITF title, Thayne and Seeman play their fourth consecutive SoCal Pro Series event this week before Seeman travels home to Estonia. The 23-year-olds were runners-up last week at the University of San Diego and reached the semifinals in Week 1.

Said Thayne: “We actually played together for the first time a few years back and instantly felt like we had great chemistry together. Johannes and I made a final of a (ITF) $25,000 (October 2021 in Calabasas). Last month, I also made a final in doubles in Tunisia. and this was the first one in the SoCal Pro Series. Some things started clicking. It’s super encouraging. We’re right there. Hopefully, we get one of these.”

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