NEW YORK (AP) — Janice Tjen earned the first singles win by an Indonesian player in a Grand Slam tournament in 22 years, advancing to a second-round match against a U.S. Open champion who has been one of her inspirations: Emma Raducanu.
Tjen upset No. 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday in 2 hours, 11 minutes. She moved on to face the 2021 U.S. Open winner, who came through the qualifying rounds before winning her title in Flushing Meadows.
That’s how the 23-year-old Tjen earned her spot in the field, becoming the first player from Indonesia to play singles in a major tournament since Angelique Widjaja at the 2004 U.S. Open.
“When Emma won the tournament and had an incredible run here, I was actually in college and I was injured at the time, so I got to watch a lot of tennis,” Tjen said. “Just seeing her doing it makes me, like, inspired to be able to do it as well.”
Tjen played at Pepperdine, where she was the NCAA doubles runner-up in 2024. After graduating this past spring with a degree in sociology, she weighed whether to try and play professionally.
“I think during my college years I’m always, like, contemplating if I should go for it; should I not. And I think at the end I decided to try it out and the coaches at Pepperdine told me I think you should give it a try, at least for two years,” Tjen said. “So I trust them, and here I am.”
Tjen came into the tournament 55-10 this year, playing lower-level matches. Then, in the biggest one of her career, she recovered after blowing a 3-1 lead in the second set, finishing the match with a nice backhand volley on match point and dropping to her knees near the net.
Her victory came on the same day that Alexandra Eala became the first woman representing the Philippines to win a Grand Slam match, knocking off No. 14 seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11).
“Growing up in the same region, we would run into each other a lot in the same tournaments,” Eala said of Tjen. “I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with her recently. I know she was in college. Now she’s playing pro and doing super well. I’m so happy for her, and it’s nice to see someone that you grew up with in the same — in the biggest stages in the world.”
Tjen gets another try — and likely a much bigger stage against the popular Raducanu — in the next round.
“It’s going to be — well, my first thought is just, like, it’s going to be a big crowd, I would say, a bigger crowd playing against her,” Tjen said. “She’s a very well-known player and I’m just excited for the opportunity.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
