Janice Tjen made a breakthrough at the SP Open on Friday, beating her first WTA semifinal with 61-place Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-1 in her second tour.
The 23-year-old Indonesian starred in Pepperdine’s college tennis and showed resilience early on, down from 3-0 in the opening ceremony before winning 12 of the last 14 games. With the victory, she continued to rise rapidly, which was graduated from Pepperdine University a year ago.
Tjen made her debut at the U.S. Open this summer, where she won her first victory in her first professional match. In the first round, Veronika Kudermetova, the 24th seed at the time ranked 149, was 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, and then lost to Emma Raducanu in the second round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn6ux8s_6o0
Tjen is the first Indonesian woman to win a match with a major since Wimbledon in 2003, and this week she was in the world’s highest 130, with 115 in the live rankings after she won today.
Her running in São Paulo marks another milestone: She is the first Indonesian to reach the WTA semifinals since Angelique Widjaja canceled the trophy in 2002.
Tjen has been on fire since Turning Pro, setting a record of 62-12 in 2025, with a total of 103-15 in all levels since June last year.
“For me, it’s still incredible, it’s not hit yet,” Tjen said later.[I was] Focus on every point – especially against Alex Eala, we all know she can come back at any time – just trying to focus and stay in it.
Next, Tjen will face Britain’s Francesca Jones in the semifinals. On the other side of the draw, Renata Zarazua will contact tiantsoa rakotomanga rajaonah.
