Introduction
Tian Fangran (born 10 August 2003) is a Chinese tennis player. Playing college tennis for the UCLA Bruins, she won the 2023 NCAA Singles Championship. She has won three singles titles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.
Tennis career
Raised in Beijing, Tian went to high school at Capital Normal University (CNU)'s Yuxin School. She played on the ITF Junior Circuit from 2017 to 2020, winning two Grade 5 singles titles and two Grade 4 doubles titles and reaching a peak junior ranking of No. 121. She twice won wildcards into junior Grand Slam main draws in singles, at the 2019 French Open and the 2020 Australian Open.
Tian started playing on the ITF World Tour in February 2019 at the age of 15. Over three weeks from October to November 2021, she partnered with Back Da-yeon to win two doubles titles and reach a third final at consecutive W15 events in Antalya, Turkey. She reached the final of the singles draw in one of the weeks in Antalya. In November 2022, she won the W15 singles event in Champaign, Illinois, without dropping a set.
Tian came to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 2022–2023 as a relatively unheralded recruit but quickly proved herself in the team's No. 1 singles spot, going undefeated in her 15 regular-season matches. She was named the Pac-12 Conference's Freshman/Newcomer of the Year in tennis. Seeded No. 9–16 in singles at the 2023 NCAA Championships, she did not drop a set in six matches as she won UCLA's first individual title since Keri Phebus in 1995, beating Maddy Sieg of rival USC 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinals and Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma 6–4, 6–2 in the final. She was named Rookie of the Year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
She received a wildcard for her home tournament, the 2023 China Open.
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
| Finals by surface |
|---|
| Legend |
| W15 tournaments (3–2) |
| Finals by surface |
| Hard (3–1) |
| Clay (0–1) |
| W15 tournaments (3–2) |
| Hard (3–1) |
| Clay (0–1) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Nov 2021 | ITF Antalya, Turkey | W15 | Clay | Julia Riera | 6–7, 1–6 | |
| Win | Nov 2022 | ITF Champaign, United States | W15 | Hard | Sara Daavettila | 6–1, 6–3 | |
| Loss | Jun 2023 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States | W15 | Hard | Megan McCray | 1–6, 6–0, 4–6 | |
| Win | Jun 2023 | ITF San Diego, United States | W15 | Hard | Aspen Schuman | 6–1, 6–2 | |
| Win | Jun 2023 | ITF Los Angeles, United States | W15 | Hard | Jessica Luisa Alsola | 6–2, 6–1 |
Doubles: 7 (4 titles, 3 runner-ups)
| Finals by surface |
|---|
| Legend |
| W60 tournaments (0–1) |
| W25 tournaments (0–1) |
| W15 tournaments (4–1) |
| Finals by surface |
| Hard (2–2) |
| Clay (2–1) |
| W60 tournaments (0–1) |
| W25 tournaments (0–1) |
| W15 tournaments (4–1) |
| Hard (2–2) |
| Clay (2–1) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Oct 2021 | ITF Antalya, Turkey | W15 | Clay | Back Da-yeon | Doğa Türkmen Melis Ayda Uyar |
7–6, 6–1 | |
| Loss | Nov 2021 | ITF Antalya, Turkey | W15 | Clay | Back Da-yeon | Ksenia Laskutova Aleksandra Pospelova |
6–2, 2–6, [6–10] | |
| Win | Nov 2021 | ITF Antalya, Turkey | W15 | Clay | Back Da-yeon | Anna Chekanskaya Zoziya Kardava |
7–5, 6–3 | |
| Win | Jun 2023 | ITF San Diego, United States | W15 | Hard | Kimmi Hance | Malaika Rapolu Anita Sahdiieva |
3–6, 6–1, [11–9] | |
| Win | Jun 2023 | ITF Los Angeles, United States | W15 | Hard | Rinon Okuwaki | María Fernanda Navarro Brandy Walker |
7–5, 6–3 | |
| Loss | Aug 2023 | ITF Valladolid, Spain | W25 | Hard | Ava Markham | Alexandra Bozovic Sarah Beth Grey |
5–7, 0–6 | |
| Loss | Sep 2023 | Caldas da Rainha Open, Portugal | W60+H | Hard | Ashley Lahey | Francisca Jorge Matilde Jorge |
1–6, 6–2, [7–10] |