ATP Official Tournament

Rising American Stars Tien, Michelsen Commit to Delray Beach Open

Fritz Opening Match Scheduled for Thursday night, Feb. 19

18 December 2025 By Delray Beach Open
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DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 18, 2025) – Fans at the 2026 Delray Beach Open that runs Feb. 13-22 will have a chance to see two rising American stars, the tournament announced today. Learner Tien, 20, and Alex Michelsen, 21, both reached career-high rankings in the world’s Top 30 this year. Tickets are available at DelrayBeachOpen.com.

The tournament also announced that two-time champion and world No. 6 Taylor Fritz will play his opening match on Thursday night, Feb. 19.

Other players previously announced as playing in the event are world No. 12 Casper Ruud and No. 20 Tommy Paul.

Both Tien and Michelsen started 2025 with surprise runs to the Australian Open Round of 16. As a qualifier, Tien upset world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in the second round and Michelsen took out No. 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round for the second of three career wins over the Greek.

Together, they became the first pair of U.S. men aged 20 or younger to reach the third round at a Grand Slam event since the 2003 US Open (Andy Roddick, 20; Robby Ginepri, 20) and at the Australian Open since 1990 (Pete Sampras, 18; David Wheaton, 20).

Last month, Tien claimed his first career title at the event in Metz, France, after he reached his first-ever ATP final in Beijing. He recorded five victories over Top 10 opponents during the season and improved his position in the ATP Rankings by nearly 100 spots in 2025.

Tien is the top seed at this week’s Next Gen Finals, the ATP’s year-end event for the season’s best 20-and-under talent. He recently added former French Open champion Michael Chang to his coaching team. Chang played the Delray Beach Open in 2000.

Michelsen reached three semifinals this season, including in Delray Beach where he defeated past champion Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Miomir Kecmanovic. He avenged that loss enroute to claiming a Challenger title on clay in Estoril, Portugal, before Kecmanovic won their rubber match in a memorable fifth-set tiebreak on the grass of Wimbledon.

Michelsen broke through on the tour at Newport in 2023 to reach his first-ever ATP final in just his second event, becoming the youngest American finalist since Fritz at Memphis in 2016. He has since reached two other ATP finals and was a semifinalist at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals.

Childhood friends and rivals since their days as junior players in Southern California, Tien played at the University of Southern California for a semester before turning pro in 2023. Michelsen had committed to play at Georgia before his run to the final at 2023 Newport, turning pro shortly afterward.

The 10-day Delray Beach Open will begin with a Fan Fest Opening Weekend Feb. 13-15 featuring a Legends event with a field of the game’s past stars including the Bryan brothers and Juan Martin del Potro. Qualifying matches will be Feb. 14-15, and singles and doubles main draw action for the ATP 250 event starts Monday, Feb. 16 and concludes with the finals on Sunday, Feb. 22.

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Disclaimer - Match schedule, including number of sessions, dates, times, number of matches and players scheduled are subject to change. Tickets are not eligible for refund or exchange. 

About the Delray Beach Open: Featuring a Legends event and an ATP 250 Tour event in the same week at the same venue, the tournament is held in Delray Beach, Florida, February 13-22, 2026 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center. The ATP Tour's first North American hard court event of the outdoor season is one of just eight ATP Tour events in the United States. The 3-day Legends event is in its 17th year. The 2026 edition of the ATP 250 event will be its 34tht overall. Each year the Delray Beach Open brings world-class tennis players and thousands of visitors to Delray Beach and Palm Beach County. In 2010, the tournament received the Discover The Palm Beaches Florida's annual Providencia Award for its extraordinary contribution to tourism. The City of Delray Beach was also a finalist for the USTA's "Best Tennis Town'' Award and in 2003, the tournament was the recipient of an "ATP Award of Excellence." For more information please visit DelrayBeachOpen.com.

About the ATP TOUR: As a global governing body of men’s professional tennis, the ATP’s mission is to serve tennis. We entertain a billion global fans, showcase the world’s greatest players at the most prestigious tournaments, and inspire the next generation of fans and players. From the United Cup in Australia, to Europe, the Americas and Asia, the stars of the game battle for titles and PIF ATP Rankings points at ATP Masters 1000, 500 and 250 events, and Grand Slams. All roads lead towards the Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious season finale held in Turin, Italy. Featuring only the world’s top 8 qualified singles players and doubles teams, the tournament also sees the official crowning of the year-end ATP World No. 1, presented by PIF, the ultimate achievement in tennis. For more information, please visitwww.ATPTour.com.

About the City of Delray Beach: In southeast Palm Beach County, along the Atlantic seashore, a Village by the Sea that began as an agricultural community in 1895 has become one of Florida's most popular destinations for visitors, new families and seasonal residents. The City of Delray Beach encompasses slightly over 16 square miles with a permanent population of nearly 65,000 and growing. The city’s charm continues to garner national awards. In 2017 alone the city received three awards: the “All-America City” award from the National Civic League (NCL) for literacy strides (the NCL also recognized Delray Beach in 1993 and 2001), a “Playful City USA” designation for providing 24 playgrounds for residents, and the recognition of Atlantic Avenue as one of the “10 Great American Shopping Streets” by USA Today. In 2012 during the nationally televised "Best of the Road" special, Delray Beach was chosen by Rand McNally, USA Today and the Travel Channel as the "Most Fun Small Town" in America. In 2014, USA Today named Delray as one of the "Best Atlantic Beaches in Florida."