For a country with a population of more than 280 million people, Indonesia hasn’t had much to celebrate in recent years when it comes to the world of tennis.
Although that changed on the first day of the US Open, thanks to an unprecedented win by Janice Tjen on her Grand Slam main draw debut. The 22-year-old booked her place in the first round by coming through the qualifying draw, where she won three matches without dropping a set, beating third seed Aoi Ito in the process. Then in the first round, she produced a stunning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, win over Veronika Kudermetova, who was the first top 50 player she had faced on the Tour.
Tjen is the first player from her country to win a Grand Slam main draw match since Angelique Widjaja at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships. She is a former college player who represented the University of Oregon and Pepperdine University. After graduating last year with a degree in sociology, Tjen was unranked but has risen up the standings following her dominance on the ITF circuit, where she won 13 titles and recorded a 100-13 win-loss record across all levels.
Tjen’s rise has been overseen by British-born coach Chris Bint, who has served a High Performance Director with the Lavie Tennis Academy in Auckland and National Performance Coach for Tennis New Zealand. Now he is in charge of Indonesia’s top player.
“Janice went to college in Pepperdine, which she attended with a girl called Vivian Yang who is from New Zealand,” Bint told Ubitennis about how their partnership formed.
“I was the head national coach for the Tennis New Zealand Federation. Janice came over to play a 15K and a 35K at the back end of last year where we connected.
“We kind of stayed in touch a little bit and then did two-and-a-half weeks in Korea. It was a bit of a trial which went well and from then onwards we’ve kind of worked together from then.”
The two are now 19 weeks into their collaboration with Tjen cutting her ranking in half from 301st in May to her current position of 149th, two places below her best. Remarkably, the US Open is the first tournament she has played outside the ITF circuit and she is yet to play a competitive match on grass.
“The most impressive area of her game is that she’s got the ability to add variety and problem solve very well,” Bint explains.
“What differentiates her is her competitiveness and willingness to value every point. The biggest thing is just trying to work through the patterns which work best for her and being a little bit mindful of what the opposition brings to the court, too.”
Raducanu awaits
Tjen list Ash Barty as a role model of hers, but another person who has inspired her is Emma Raducanu, the player she faces in the second round on Wednesday. Raducanu is the only player to have won the US Open title as a qualifier.
The upcoming encounter could be a game-changer for Tjen if she springs another shock. A win would reward her $237,000 in prize money, which is more than four times what she has made in her entire career. It is without a doubt her biggest match yet, but Bint believes the key is treating it no differently from any other.
“It doesn’t really matter who’s down the other side of the court. At the end of the day, it’s just another tennis match,” he said.
“We have a phrase which is ‘the ball doesn’t care.’ The ball doesn’t care what kind of court you’re on. Whether it’s a big court, stadium court, US Open or at an ITF 15K.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Raducanu down the other end or someone unranked. We’re just going to treat it like any other match and we’ll focus on like I say we’re doing what Janice does well.”
Tjen is one of two players from Indonesia to have a WTA singles ranking. The other is Priska Nugroho at 322nd in the standings. On the ATP Tour, there are currently no players in the top 1000.
“Coming from Indonesia has its challenges,” Bint acknowledges. “There’s not really a player development plan from juniors to pros. So it’s been pretty tough financially for her.
“We’re very grateful that she’s got a couple of sponsors from Indonesia which has allowed her to play on the pro Tour now and has allowed her to bring me in as a coach. Without them, she wouldn’t be able to do any of this.
“Her parents have helped her out as best as they can, but to play full-time on Tour is extremely expensive.
“It’s very different than if you’re working with someone from the UK or a Grand Slam Nation.”
Currently projected to break into the top 130, Tjen could rise even further in the coming weeks. Whilst her schedule isn’t confirmed publicly, she is without a doubt more likely to receive a wildcard into WTA events during the Asian swing given her recent run.
However, this isn’t a top priority for somebody who is still getting used to how the tennis system works.
“She had no idea about how professional tennis worked, how many tournaments count towards her rankings,” Bint remembers of their meeting back in April.
“She wouldn’t be able to tell you now what her ranking is and she’s got no idea about scheduling and how much you should be training and in the gym. She was extremely raw.
“It’s more about doing the right things day in, day out for the next 52 weeks.
“Janice has got some amazing personal values and performer attributes, and that was one of the biggest reasons why I decided to take on this role.”
