Before each day’s play at the BNP Paribas Open, we’ll preview three must-stream matches.
Ben Shelton vs. Learner Tien
⏰ Estimated start time: 4:00 p.m. ET
👉 Stream live on the Tennis Channel app
This match feels highly relevant to the state of U.S. men’s tennis at the moment.
Shelton has been closing in on the No. 1 men’s ranking among the American men for what feels like a year now. He’s a couple hundred points behind Taylor Fritz, at No. 8 in the world. But Shelton’s recent successes—Masters 1000 title in Toronto, Wimbledon and Australian Open quarterfinals, win over Fritz in the Dallas final—have made it seem like he’s the guy with the biggest upside, the future Slam winner, the star in the making.
During the same time period, Tien has made a similarly impressive rise, from No. 122 at the start of 2025 to No. 27 today. In most ways, he has been a sort of second-tier Shelton. Tien is also a lefty, but he’s three years younger, five inches shorter, hits his serve 20 MPH slower, doesn’t have the same kind of explosive athleticism, and is ranked 20 spots lower.
Yet in their only meeting, last summer on grass in Mallorca, it was Tien who was the superior player and ball-striker. He was the one belting winners into the corners, closing points at net, and coming back from a break down in each set to win in straights.
