Janice Tjen 'very happy to be part of history' as she revives Indonesian tennis

Janice Tjen holding the Chennai title. (WTA)

Just a day after Filipino young gun Alexandra Eala set the crowd alight, Indonesia's Janice Tjen did a similar thing at Melbourne Park. Except this time, the script was different. Tjen won.

Tjen took down Canada's 22nd seed, Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7-6, becoming the first Indonesian to win a main draw match at the Australian Open since Yayuk Basuki back in 1998.

Tjen, at just 23, has been on a tear lately, and this victory is the latest chapter in her story. Ranked No.413 around this time last year, she's now sitting pretty at world No.59 (with a live ranking of 46 at the time of writing).

A Fast Start and a Tense Finish

In a match that lasted one hour and 43 minutes, Tjen came out swinging, wrapping up the first set in a brisk 36 minutes. She seized control early, winning five games in a row after an initial back-and-forth, leaving Fernandez—the 2021 US Open runner-up—reeling and searching for answers.

Things got tighter in the second set. Tjen grabbed an early break to go up 3-1, digging deep in a pivotal fourth game to hold serve despite being in a tough spot. But Fernandez clawed her way back, rattling off three straight games to flip the script and lead 4-3.

The two traded blows until it hit 6-6, forcing a tiebreak. That's where Tjen raised her level. She shot to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, clinching it 7-1 with a powerful roar that echoed through the arena.

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Drawing Strength from the Crowd

What really made this occasion more special was the vibe created by the Indonesian supporters. Flags waving, and chants of "Indonesia!" rang out around the court. Kia Arena is built like an amphitheatre, allowing the noise to reverberate throughout.

"It's something special and feels a little bit like home," she said afterwards. "Knowing that a lot of Indonesians came out to support me today means a lot."

She leaned on that energy when things got tight.

"I think when I start feeling my energy drop a little bit, I know that they're behind me and supporting me no matter what. I think that helps a lot," Tjen shared in her post-match press conference.

And it wasn't just fans; her family and close friends were there too, making the whole thing even more personal.

"I'm very happy to be a part of history and be able to get a win here for Indonesia," she told reporters. "It was special, especially being able to do it in front of my family here and there were a lot of Indonesians, and my close friends are also here."

Born in Jakarta on May 6, 2002, Tjen got into tennis thanks to a nudge from her friend Priska Madelyn Nugroho, a top junior at the time. Money was tight for going pro right away, so she took the college route—starting at the University of Oregon before transferring to Pepperdine in 2021. She graduated in 2024 with a sociology degree.

A Breakthrough Year

Tjen's 2025 was nothing short of explosive, laying the groundwork for days like this. She burst onto the scene at the US Open as a qualifier, upsetting Russian 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova in the first round—making her the first Indonesian in a Grand Slam main singles draw since 2004, and the first to win a match at a major since Angelique Widjaja at the 2003 Wimbledon. Though she fell to Emma Raducanu in the second round, it was a sign of things to come.

From there, the milestones piled up. At the São Paulo Open, she reached her first WTA quarter-final, semi-final, and final—the first Indonesian to do so since Widjaja in 2004 and 2002, respectively.

She didn't stop at singles. Partnering with Aldila Sutjiadi, she snagged a WTA 125 doubles title in Suzhou and a WTA 250 in Chennai. Then came the big one—winning the Chennai Open singles title against Kimberly Birrell, the first WTA Tour singles crown for an Indonesian since 2002.

That wasn't enough, though. She also took out the doubles there alongside Sutjiadi, beating top seeds Storm Hunter and Monica Niculescu.

Add in a WTA 125 singles win in Jinan and a WTA 250 doubles title in Guangzhou with Katarzyna Piter, and it becomes clearer why she rocketed into the top 100 on October 6, 2025, becoming the sixth Indonesian to hit that mark.

By November 3, she peaked at No.53 in singles and No.84 in doubles. Tjen even picked up a bronze medal from the 2022 Asian Games doubles with, you guessed it, Sutjiadi.

Off the court, fame's creeping in, but Tjen plays it cool. "I get recognised a little bit here and there, and I think it's nice, it's a nice feeling to be recognised," she confided to AFP.

"I wouldn’t say that it changed my life completely, but my life is still the same. I'm a simple person. I try to have tunnel vision and just focus on being the best version of myself."

Looking Ahead

Now, Tjen's eyeing her next challenge—a second-round clash with former world No.1 Karolína Plíšková, who scraped past Sloane Stephens for her first win since September. A victory there would mark Tjen's first Grand Slam third round appearance, adding another feather to her cap. She's also in the doubles mix with Piter, riding high after their Hobart WTA 250 title win.

For Indonesian tennis, which has waited decades for a star like this, Tjen's rise is a breath of fresh air. It's not just about the wins. Like a lot of players from countries without a big tennis history, it's about inspiring a new generation back home, where costs and opportunities can be barriers.

"I feel proud to be able to do this for my country," said Tjen after her US Open round one win. "Hopefully like this, by me making appearance here, will inspire more tennis player—like, younger kids to play tennis and also believing that they can be here too."

There's even a small Australian connection, with Tjen admitting that Ash Barty was someone she really looked up to.

"She's, I would say, my role model. I would watch a little bit of her matches and try to copy what works for me, what's not, and just trying to understand her game a little bit more."

South-East Asian tennis may have been looking towards Eala at the start of the week. But perhaps they should've been looking over here, at Janice Tjen.

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