For Indonesian tennis, the 2025 season has just delivered a moment that will be remembered forever.
At the 2025 Chennai Open (a WTA 250 tournament in India), 23-year-old Janice Tjen completed a remarkable sweep of both the singles and doubles titles, etching her name into the history books for her country.
In a singles final, she defeated Australia’s Kimberly Birrell 6–4, 6–3. Then, partnering the Indonesian doubles specialist Aldila Sutjiadi, she clinched the doubles crown with a 7–5, 6–4 victory over the team of Storm Hunter and Monica Niculescu.
This double triumph is significant in multiple ways: it marks Tjen as the first Indonesian woman to win a WTA Tour singles title in 23 years, following in the footsteps of Angelique Widjaja who last did so in 2002.
The Journey to the Titles
Tjen’s run in Chennai was far from effortless. Early rounds featured tight battles—including a second-round comeback from 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 over Linda Fruhvirtová.
In the semifinal she edged past Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee 7-6(6), 7-6(5) to secure her place in the final. In the final she showed strength and composure, converting five of six break-point opportunities and saving 12 of 14 break points she faced.
On the doubles side, she and Sutjiadi entered as the second-seeded pair and overcame the top seeds in straight sets.
Her path underscores both mental resilience and physical consistency: bouncing back after early setbacks and then maintaining form deep into back-to-back finals in singles and doubles—a rare feat on tour.
What This Means for Indonesian Tennis
Tjen’s achievement is more than a personal milestone. By winning the singles event, she broke a 23-year drought of Indonesian women capturing a WTA singles title.
Widjaja’s success in 2002 was the last.Her ranking will jump dramatically—moving into the top 60 or even top 50, surpassing Widjaja’s career-high.
This elevation opens doors to major tournaments and increased visibility for Indonesian tennis on the world stage. Additionally, sweeping both singles and doubles at the same WTA event places her in an exclusive group of players this year who accomplished such a dual win.
For Indonesia, this success can act as a catalyst: inspiring younger players, attracting greater support and investment, and reinforcing the belief that players from the country can compete and win at high levels.
What’s Next for Tjen?
With this breakthrough behind her, the focus now turns to maintaining momentum. Tjen has shown she can win at WTA 250 level in both disciplines.
The next steps will be translating that into deeper runs at higher-tier tournaments—WTA 500, WTA 1000, and eventually Grand Slams.
Her game still has room to grow: handling top-10 pressure, refining consistency week-in, week-out, and managing the dual burden of singles and doubles demands.
For the upcoming season, goals will likely include a top-50 ranking, challenging for Grand Slam main draws (beyond qualifying), and continuing to build her doubles partnership with Sutjiadi to create sustained success.
On the national level, this moment offers the Indonesian federation and tennis community a platform: use this achievement to bolster junior development, infrastructure, coaching and international exposure so that Tjen’s success is just the beginning rather than a one-off.
A Turning Point Both for Tjen and Indonesia
Janice Tjen’s sweep of the singles and doubles titles at the Chennai Open marks a turning point—for her career and for Indonesian tennis.
She not only secured her first WTA singles title but also authored a rare doubles win on the same weekend, making history in her country’s sporting record. With rising ranking, increased confidence and growing international recognition, she now enters a new phase.
The challenge ahead will be ensuring this moment evolves into sustained high-level performance and inspires the next generation. For now, however, the spotlight belongs to Janice Tjen—the rising star from Jakarta who dared to make history.
