August 26, 2025
JAKARTA – Indonesian tennis player Janice Tjen made history by qualifying for the singles main draw of the 2025 US Open on Friday, becoming the first Indonesian woman to do so since Angelique Widjaja in 2004.
While Indonesia has regularly seen doubles specialist Aldila Sutjiadi competing on the Grand Slam stage, Tjen’s breakthrough in singles marks a rare and significant achievement for the nation.
On Monday, the Jakarta-born right-hander continued that legacy by beating Russian 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova, a former world No. 9 and reigning Wimbledon doubles champion, with a gritty three-set victory 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round.
Tjen shook off the frustration of losing a 3-1 lead in the second set, closing the contest with a fearless backhand volley on match point and falling to her knees near the net in relief.
The upset mirrored the feats of Indonesia’s tennis legend Yayuk Basuki, who reached the US Open second round in 1991 and 1997.
“It means a lot,” Tjen said after her win on Sunday, as quoted by AFP. “I feel proud to be able to do this for my country. Hopefully my appearance here will inspire more tennis players to believe they can be here too.”
Currently ranked 149th in the world, Tjen now faces a high-profile clash with Britain’s Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion.
The matchup carries personal meaning for Tjen, who revealed that Raducanu’s fairytale triumph inspired her during her college years at Pepperdine University in California.
“When Emma won the tournament and had an incredible run, I was in college and injured at the time,” she said. “Seeing her do it inspired me to believe I could do it as well.”
Tjen’s rise has been steady. She turned professional in 2018, won gold in singles and silver in doubles at the 2019 ASEAN School Games and later captured bronze at the 2022 Asian Games in doubles with Sutjiadi.
At the collegiate level, she starred for Oregon and Pepperdine, finishing as NCAA doubles runner-up in 2024.
Her remarkable momentum this season paved the way to Flushing Meadows. She broke into the WTA Top 200, which make her eligible for US Open qualification round. In the final round, she beat Japan’s rising star and third seed in the qualifiers Aoi Ito 6-1, 6-2.
Tjen arrived at the US Open with an impressive 55-10 record in 2025, including 27 straight ITF victories and five titles that earned her ITF Player of the Month honors in both May and June.