From No. 391 To No. 36: Janice Tjen’s Stunning Surge Rewrites Indonesian Tennis History
According to reporting by John Berkok for Tennis.com, Janice Tjen has climbed from No. 46 to No. 36 in the latest WTA rankings following her run to the round of 16 at the Dubai WTA 1000 event. The jump places the 23 year old inside the Top 40 for the first time in her career.
The milestone carries historical weight. As noted by Tennis.com, she is the first Indonesian woman to reach the Top 40 since Yayuk Basuki in 1998. Basuki, who reached a career high of No. 19 in 1997, had long set the benchmark for Indonesian women’s tennis.
A breakthrough nearly three decades in the making
Tjen’s rise builds on momentum established earlier this season. Three weeks before her Top 40 debut, she broke into the Top 50 after advancing to the second round of the Australian Open, moving from No. 59 to No. 47. According to Tennis.com, that achievement made her only the second Indonesian woman in WTA rankings history to enter the Top 50, alongside Basuki.
Her current position also makes her the highest ranked Indonesian woman since Basuki reached No. 35 during the 1998 US Open.
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The scale of the improvement becomes even clearer in longer view. On this date last year, Tjen was ranked No. 391 in the world. Her steady accumulation of ranking points over the past 12 months reflects consistent progress rather than a single breakthrough week.
From newcomer to contender on tour
Tjen only began competing regularly at tour level late last summer. She made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the US Open and reached the second round, an early signal that she could compete on bigger stages.
In the months that followed, she reached her first WTA final in Sao Paulo and claimed her maiden WTA title in Chennai. Those performances established her as more than a promising prospect.
Her run in Dubai added another layer. She reached the round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event for the first time before losing to Amanda Anisimova. WTA 1000 tournaments award some of the highest ranking points outside the Grand Slams, making deep runs particularly valuable in the standings.
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Tjen has also demonstrated an ability to challenge higher ranked opponents. According to Tennis.com, she owns four career victories over Top 30 players, including wins over Veronika Kudermetova at the US Open, Leylah Fernandez at the Australian Open, Maya Joint in Abu Dhabi, and Fernandez again in Dubai.
A new standard for Indonesian tennis
Beyond individual milestones, Tjen’s ascent signals a broader shift for Indonesian tennis. For years, Basuki’s achievements stood largely alone in the modern rankings era. Tjen’s presence inside the Top 40 reintroduces Indonesia into conversations typically dominated by players from Europe and North America.
She returns to action this week at the WTA 500 event in Merida, Mexico, where she is seeded sixth and faces Camila Osorio in the opening round. Next week, she is scheduled to make her debut at Indian Wells, another opportunity to test her ranking against one of the deepest fields on tour.
If her trajectory over the past year is any indication, the climb may not be finished yet.
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Sources: Tennis.com, WTA
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