Not to be outdone by young American Iva Jovic's marathon win on Saturday, 20-year-old Learner Tien produced his own tennis magic with a five set win over Jakub Mensik at the 2026 US Open.
Tien is coached by another former young tennis superstar, 1989 French Open winner Michael Chang. He etches himself in tennis history by being the youngest American man to make it to the US Open fourth round since Andy Roddick in 2002, a year before Roddick won his US Open ******* le.
MORE: Iva Jovic made a relatable admission after defeating Alexandra Eala in US Open thriller
He is not always the first of the 21-and-under generation that comes to mind among his peers: Arthur Fils, Joao Fonseca, and Mensik.
However, his game continues to improve, and Tien is becoming elite and beloved among his peers and fans.

#open #tennis #american #year

Coco Gauff marched into the fourth round of the US Open but compatriots Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys exited on a mixed day for home hopes in New York.
Gauff, the most recent American champion in New York in 2023, did not have things all her own way but maintained her bid for a second triumph by overcoming Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6-3 6-4.
However, Keys said she felt "scared" as she slumped to defeat despite leading her third set against China's Zheng Qinwen 5-0, while last year's runner-up Anisimova lost in straight sets.
But there still will be five American women in the last 16, with teenager Iva Jovic winning later on Saturday to join Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Townsend and Emma Navarro.
American players could also contest five of the eight fourth-round matches in the men's draw, with Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Alex Michelsen through - and Learner Tien still to play.

#gauff #keys #round #last

Duolingo shares rose about 7% on September 1 after Evercore ISI upgraded the stock from In Line to Outperform and doubled its price target from $105 to $210. From the prior closing level, the new objective implied roughly 42% upside. The **** yst's central argument was that competitive fears around general-purpose products such as ChatGPT had become exaggerated. Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) still owns a habit-forming consumer product, a global brand, and a large base of learners who want structure rather than an open-ended chatbot.
Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com
That distinction matters. A language model can explain grammar, simulate conversation, and create personalized exercises, but it does not automatically reproduce Duolingo's streaks, curriculum, social reinforcement, or mobile distribution. Duolingo can also use the same models to create content faster and improve speaking practice. Evercore raised its 2027 and 2028 earnings estimates, suggesting that AI may support engagement and operating leverage instead of simply eroding the moat.
The bear case is not imaginary. Chatbots are improving quickly, and voice interaction makes free-form tutoring more natural. Consumers can divide their time among many inexpensive applications, while Duolingo must keep spending on product development and marketing to remain distinctive. A doubled price target following a major decline may signal that expectations became too low, but it does not prove that competitive pressure has peaked. Valuation can still compress if user growth or bookings slow.
Hedge funds leaned modestly more bullish in Q2. Insider Monkey counted 39 funds holding Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL), up from 37 in Q1. AQR Capital Management increased its stake more than twentyfold to 2,332,543 shares, one of the quarter's clearest institutional changes. The filing cannot show whether that was a long-term conviction bet, a quantitative signal, or a hedge.

#NASDAQ #duol #hedge #price

Naomi Osaka had her first round match at the US Open interrupted by influencers in the crowd. The tournament has seen an influx of influencers this year and the reaction has not been mixed as people just seem generally annoyed by their disruptions.
Osaka was asked about the influencers during a press conference following her round two victory. She noted that the umpire had "told everyone to be quiet more than I've ever heard an umpire tell a crowd to be quiet." And in her first round match she mostly ignored the noise, but there was a moment when people were shouting.
Osaka was diplomatic, pointing out that they could help grow the game, but wished they better followed the etiquette of the sport.
MORE: ESPN criticized for not showing conclusion of Gael Monfils, Learner Tien US Open match
"I think obviously if you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport," Osaka said. "And I feel like it's common courtesy to read up on the sport, especially the etiquette. I feel like it could be a good thing for people to make the sport of tennis popular to their specific audience, but I think it has to be managed a lot better, especially in the situation like my first-round match. Overall, I think there are huge positives. I'm not the one to… you want people to continue to grow the sport."

#match #first #like #open

Unpredictable French star Gaël Monfils sprung a surprise with his next career move after playing his final match at a grand slam.
Monfils, a two-time major semi-finalist and former world number 11, lost in straight sets to Learner Tien on Thursday night, two days after his 40th birthday.
One of the sport's great entertainers will hang up his racket at the end of the year, but he is not moving into commentating like Tim Henman, coaching like Goran Ivanisevic or even hitting the golf course like Andy Murray.
Instead, Monfils, the husband of women's world number nine Elina Svitolina, is taking an office job in finance.
"I have a new chapter coming next year. I will work in finance," he said. "I already signed to work in wealth management in a Swiss company. So my next chapter (is) working in an office and working in finance.

#finance #number #work

ESPN made a curious decision in the midst of its Thursday night September 3, primetime tennis coverage of the 2026 US Open.
Following Coco Gauff's straight set win over Paula Badosa and before Alexander Zverev took the court to play Quentin Hays, the network opted to air a desk commentary segment with Malika Andrews and Sam Querrey instead of showing live footage of the conclusion of the Gael Monfils, Learner Tien match.
Gael Monfils lost in straight sets. This match marked his last ever as a player at the US Open. He is retiring at the end of the year to take a desk job. Monfils, who celebrated his 40th birthday with a win on Tuesday night, has played at the US Open for over two decades beginning as a junior.
MORE: US Open influencers get credentials revoked after online flex goes wrong
In addition to missing live coverage of American tennis star Learner Tien achieving a career best by advancing to the third round at the US Open, fans missed the emotional farewell by Monfils.

#monfils #learner #night #desk

Aug. 26—PULLMAN — Since his arrival in Pullman from UC Davis eight months ago, two goals have been top of mind for Washington State's newly announced starting quarterback Caden Pinnick.
"Beat the team across the west and go get that Pac-12 championship," Pinnick said following WSU's Tuesday practice at Gesa Field, his first since being named a starter on Monday. "(That's) something that I echoed very clearly. I think we have a lot of guys here that feel the same way, offense and defense. They want it."
That's a pretty high bar for a sophomore starter to set, but Pinnick, last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year, may have the work ethic to back it up.
Pinnick will get a chance to check off that first box during a unique Seattle Apple Cup at 1 p.m. Sept. 6 at the University of Washington.
"He's a really good learner in all aspects," said first-year WSU coach Kirby Moore, who also said it "was pretty dang cool" seeing Pinnick in WSU's academic center early Monday morning on the first day of school. "We talk about doing more than what's expected, so the (practice) film is going to be up here in about 20 minutes, and I'm sure he'll be watching it and texting his coaches and asking questions about the good things and maybe the ones that we can learn from."

#pinnick #first #year #starter

Duolingo (DUOL) just made another move to strengthen what keeps its users coming back. The company recently acquired Animade, a London-based animation and motion design studio known for character animation and playful, interactive design. The deal folds Animade into Duolingo's growing Design Studio. On its own, a small animation acquisition might not seem like much. But it fits neatly with how Duolingo believes it continues to grow. The company's whole model runs on engagement. Its cast of characters, streaks, and animations are what make lessons feel like a game rather than a chore. Buying a studio built around exactly that kind of work feeds directly into the product experience that keeps users hooked on Duolingo.
The purchase comes barely a week after Duolingo reported earnings, and the deal is in line with what management focused on in its earnings call transcript. Management linked the 23% year-over-year (YoY) growth in daily active users to product improvements. CEO Luis von Ahn reinforced the point, saying the results back the company's strategy to improve the product and prioritize user growth. Current-user retention also hit an all-time high, with von Ahn noting that a better product is both bringing learners back and keeping them there.
CoreWeave vs Nebius: Both Companies Reported Strong Earnings, But Here's the Stock You Should Buy
A $210 Billion Reason to Buy AMD Stock Here
As Oracle Deepens Its Partnership with AWS, Here's How You Should Play ORCL Stock

#Stock #design #animade

Francis Tiafoe needed three sets to defeat fellow American Learner Tien and reach the round of 16 at the 2026 Cincinnati Open, and Tien joked with Tiafoe at the conclusion of the match that Tiafoe's recent injury and surgery must have been fake.
"Your wrist is not injured, bro," Tien said to Tiafoe at the net. "Your wrist is not injured. You're lying. That surgery was fake. That surgery was fake. You're lying. You're lying. Your wrist is fine. Your wrist is fine. Stop lying. Stop lying."
Tiafoe laughed throughout the apparently good-natured exchange.
Tiafoe had surgery earlier in the month to remove a cyst from his right wrist/hand, which forced his retirement from a match in Montreal.
Tiafoe will have his hands full in the next round at Lindner Family Tennis Center, scheduled to face second seed Félix Auger-Aliassime.

#tiafoe #tien #surgery #stop

Ben Shelton successfully defended his ***** le at the Canadian Open on Thursday, defeating fellow American Brandon Nakashima, 6-3, 7-6(4), in Montreal. It's Shelton's second ATP 1000 tournament win.
He became the seventh man in the Open era to go back-to-back in the event. Rafael Nadal was the last to win in both Toronto and Montreal — the men's and women's tournaments alternate sites each year — in 2018-19.
Shelton didn't drop a set in six matches against top-75 opponents. After a bye in the first round, he defeated No. 74 Jenson Brooksby, 6-3, 7-5, in the round of 64 and No. 34 Zizou Bergs, 6-3, 6-2, in the round of 32. No. 27 Joao Fonesca fell, 6-3, 7-6(3), sending Shelton to the quarterfinals, where he beat No. 17 Jakub Mensik, 6-3, 6-1.
The semifinal between Shelton and Learner Tien, served as a revenge match of sorts. The last time the two faced off was at Indian Wells, a Masters 1000 tournament, and Tien upset Shelton. This time, the former Gator emerged victorious in dominant fashion, 6-2, 6-3.
Shelton had struggled in Masters 1000s all year, coming into the Canadian Open with a 1-4 record, including four straight losses. Despite winning an ATP 500 tournament (Dallas) and an ATP 250 tournament (Munich), Shelton had seen several early exits since falling to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open — in January. Most notably, he was knocked out in the round of 64 at Roland Garros and suffered a first-round loss at Wimbledon.

#tournament

A former champion at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters was knocked out on Friday by a South American clay-courter while the tournament's 2022 finalist survived into the second round.
With 64 seeds in the men's and women's draw of the last major warm-up prior to the August 30 US Open only going into action from Saturday, interest focused on the fate of 2017 winner Grigor Dimitrov and 2022 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The popular Dimitrov was unable to hold onto a 4-1 lead in the third set against Argentine Sebastian Baez, exiting in the first round 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 as he lost the last five games of the encounter.
The 35-year-old Dimitrov, his ranking down to 138 and playing on a wild card, was bidding for his first Cincinnati victory in five years.
Baez goes on to next play American Learner Tien, a semi-finalist this week in Montreal.

#first #five

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is confident that tight end Eli Raridon will be able to play with NFL-level speed next season.
Speaking at a press conference, Vrabel spoke highly of Raridon and the vision that he has for him for next season. The Patriots are clearly expecting a lot from the rookie third-round draft pick after losing veteran Julian Hill to a season-ending injury.
Austin Hooper also left for the Atlanta Falcons in free agency.
"New offense," Vrabel said. "New scheme. New NFL. Capable, willing learner. We'll see when pads come on. Things change. But I think he's tried to play with the speed that we felt like he had, and may not always have shown."
Raridon is in line to be the Patriots' backup tight end behind Hunter Henry next season. He went for 482 receiving yards in his final collegiate year at Notre Dame and was highly-touted for his skills as a receiver and a blocker.

#raridon #highly

Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov may have uttered the best line of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships to date.
When asked about his third round match against 30-year-old Italian Matteo Berrettini, Dimitrov said: “If nothing else, it’s gonna be a pretty match.”
MORE: Learner Tien shares unusual social media post from hospital after Wimbledon loss
It will be a pretty match and a battle between players who had devastating injuries curtail their Grand Slam aspirations.
Many wonder what could have been if Dimitrov, 35, had not gotten injured against Jannik Sinner last year at Wimbledon.

The Milwaukee Bucks have declined to tender Ousmane Dieng a qualifying offer June 29, but that doesn't close the door on him returning to the team.
HoopsHype, a USA TODAY NETWORK property, reported the move, which makes the 6-foot-9 forward an unrestricted free agent. But HoopsHype also reported the Bucks have "significant interest" in signing Dieng to a new deal.
Dieng's qualifying offer would have been $8.7 million, but the Journal Sentinel previously reported the team wasn't likely to go that high and would prefer to offer Dieng a multi-year deal at a lower number.
The 23-year-old Dieng was acquired by the Bucks at the trade deadline and was lauded as a quick learner. He played in 30 games with Milwaukee, starting 20, and averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 **** ists per game.
Dieng scored a career-high 36 points against the Houston Rockets on April 1.

The Milwaukee Bucks have declined to tender Ousmane Dieng a qualifying offer June 29, but that doesn't close the door on him returning to the team.
HoopsHype, a USA TODAY NETWORK property, reported the move, which makes the 6-foot-9 forward an unrestricted free agent. But HoopsHype also reported the Bucks have "significant interest" in signing Dieng to a new deal.
Dieng's qualifying offer would have been $8.7 million, but the Journal Sentinel previously reported the team wasn't likely to go that high and would prefer to offer Dieng a multi-year deal at a lower number.
The 23-year-old Dieng was acquired by the Bucks at the trade deadline and was lauded as a quick learner. He played in 30 games with Milwaukee, starting 20, and averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 ******* ists per game.
Dieng scored a career-high 36 points against the Houston Rockets on April 1.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's childhood coach Manish Ojha describes his ward as a "God's child" and credits fate and divine guidance for bringing the youngster to his academy.

"A couple of years ago, I thanked Vaibhav's father (Sanjeev Sooryavanshi) for bringing the kid to me. Ispe bhagwaan ka haath hai (He is God's child). It is because of him that I got recognition, otherwise who gives two cents about a cricket coach in Bihar?," an emotional Manish tells TimesofIndia.com after the 15-year-old received his maiden India call-up for the Ireland and England series.

"Sab Bhagwaan ki kripa hai (God has been kind). The kid is immensely talented and has worked hard. Credit to his father as well," he says.

Riding on a sensational IPL 2026 campaign, the 15-year-old from Bihar will now don the blue jersey.
"When we talk about Bihar, we always talk about our past, from the Maurya Empire, Gupta Empire, Buddhism, Jainism, Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran Yatra or the JP Movement. In modern times, it has often been in the news for all the notorious things. This teenager is not only hitting sixes but also smashing those stigmas ******* ociated with Bihar out of the park. Imagine Sachin Tendulkar calling him 'truly special' or Virat Kohli telling Vaibhav, 'Ek Bihari, sab pe bhari, phir khatam game.' What Vaibhav has managed to achieve in the last few months is phenomenal," says Ojha.

Sooryavanshi smashed 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30. He also hit a record-breaking 72 sixes during a season that saw him narrowly miss out on the fastest century in IPL history.
"He is a big-match player. We have seen that in the IPL playoffs. In the U-19 World Cup final, he again played a scintillating knock. It is a great call by the selectors to pick him. And this is just the beginning. He will achieve a lot more," says Ojha.

Ojha says his ward is a "quick learner". According to him, the preparation before every game helps Sooryavanshi play his aggressive brand of cricket and take on the best bowlers without fear.

"He prepares in his own way. It's not that he sits with video ******* ysts, but he does his homework," says Ojha.

This conscientious approach and unshakeable temperament led the selectors to name the explosive Sooryavanshi in the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England.
Sooryavanshi has not only caught the attention of greats like Tendulkar and Kohli, but India's Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has also been effusive in his praise for the teenager. In a near-solo effort, Sooryavanshi almost dragged Rajasthan Royals into the IPL 2026 final. In the Eliminator, he smashed a 29-ball 97 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and then followed it up with a 47-ball 96 against Gill's Gujarat ******* ans.

"I think he's had a remarkable season. I've not seen anyone bat the way he bats and, in this format, he is probably one of the best batters in the world right now," Gill had said after Qualifier 2 in Mullanpur.

"It is remar

Revolutionize the health beverage food and sports industries with one BLOCKBUSTER product after the other. Similar to S. Jobs while mass producing like Tesla. I am a learner not a hater!
Put the profits in a fund to build a strong BRAND diversify ourselves capital for startups,..