Tjen hopes to build on after big leap in WTA rankings

CHENNAI: One year can be defining in sportspersons' career. Sometimes it takes them to the top of their game or plunge them to the depths of despair. For Indonesian tennis player Janice Tjen too, that one year has been quite defining in her career. From nowhere in the ranking, she has broken into the top 100 and now rest gleefully in the top 80.

The game against junior Wimbledon Champion Mia Pohankova in the quarterfinal of the WTA Chennai Open here showed how Tjen has improved. There were deft touches and powerful shots. Same time around last year, Tjen was ranked 580 and now she is ranked World No 82 after reaching career-best 80.

Like most sportspersons, her journey too far has not been easy. Growing in a country that adores badminton, Tjen found tennis through a family trip with her compatriot Priska Nugroho. “Our siblings were good friends, and that way, our parents connected and took us to a tennis club tournament. There, both (she and Priska) took to tennis,” she had told reporters here.

She took one step at a time. The 23-year-old dominated the ITF circuit, winning seven singles titles in 2024, before winning six more between May and July this year. In the WTA circuit, she ended as the runner-up of the Sao Paulo Open in September, before winning the WTA 125 in Jihan, China just before this tournament.

Apart from bagging titles, she also became the first Indonesian since Angelique Widjaja (2004) to be in the main draw of a Grand Slam event (US Open).

Taking up tennis professionally would be a financial burden for their parents, who run a family business. “Expenses on travel and hiring a coach were not easy for them. Luckily, there was a college route (the US) that helped me continue to develop my game and had put me in a better position to turn pro," she said.

She explained how she took up collegiate tennis. “Initially, I didn't know about it. It was my father who knew a lot of people and spoke to me about the levels of competitions there. He spoke to my mother and they both agreed to send her to the US,” she said. “Worse comes to worst, I cant play tennis anymore — I would still have a degree to do something else in life. That is how I gave it a go.”

After dominating the Junior ITF tournaments, Tjen got an opportunity at Oregon State University in the US in January 2021, before moving to Pepperdine University in Los Angeles later that year. Coming to the big leagues after her conclusion of her collegiate career last year, Janice knew that she had a mountain to climb.

“Playing at a higher level helps me financially as well with the bigger prize money. This one year, will be a reflection of us. My goal is to be able to compete at the highest level,” she said.

Click here to read article