Day 1 of the 2025 US Open main draw was a day of magic for 23-year-old Janice Tjen. The No. 149-ranked Indonesian player upset No. 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in the first round.
Ahead of her second round match against 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, check out some fast facts about the rising talent.
She’s made history for Indonesia
The Jakarta native celebrated her victory with gusto on Court 13, as she became the first player from Indonesia to compete in a Grand Slam singles main draw since Angelique Widjaja at the US Open in 2004, and the first Indonesian player to win a Grand Slam singles main draw match since Widjaja at Wimbledon in 2003.
She needed prodding to turn pro
Tjen, who played college tennis at the University of Oregon and Pepperdine University, said that she was on the fence about trying a professional career two years ago.
“I studied sociology,” she told reporters on Sunday. “I think during my college years I was always contemplating if I should go for it; should I not. And I think at the end, I decided to try it out. The coaches at Pepperdine told me ‘I think you should give it a try, at least for two years.’
"So I trusted them, and here I am."
Winning is a habit for her
Tjen was unranked when she graduated from Pepperdine University in 2024. Since then, she has won 13 ITF titles and recorded a 100-13 win-loss record across all levels. Tjen logged a 27-match winning streak from May to July, followed by back-to-back finals at the Lexington ITF W75 and Landisville ITF W100 tournaments in the past month.
She loves her Mario Kart
Tjen was pretty even-keel during her post-match press conference, trying to process all the emotions she was feeling after her biggest career win. But her face lit up when she talked about one of her favorite hobbies: playing Mario Kart.
“Me and my coach have been battling with Mario Kart,” she said with a grin. “We've been grinding on that one.”
She went on to say that her favorite character is Yoshi. “I've been Mario Kart since I was really young and it's always my go-to character,” she said.
She’s not the only Indonesian star on tour
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention one of Tjen’s big mentors on tour, the doubles star Aldila Sutjiadi. The current world No. 48 has made quite a name for herself at the Slams over the last few years, reaching three major semifinals in mixed doubles.
As it turns out, 30-year-old Sutjiadi has also played a pivotal role in helping Tjen become a professional.
“I am really close with Aldila,” she said. “She's always been like a good older sister to me, taking care of me, guiding me, and telling me, ‘This is what you need to do.’ She's also one of the people that convinced me that I should give [becoming a pro] a try. It's very nice to be around another Indonesian here."
Ash Barty is one of her role models
Tjen plays an all-court attacking style, and she loves to get to the net. The 23-year-old did that 30 times on Sunday, more than any other player in action on Day 1 at the time of publication (there were still a few matches yet to be completed). And she said she is inspired by former world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty.
“I would say [she is] my role model,” she said of Barty, who plays a multifaceted game with an angelic touch. “I would watch a little bit of her matches and try to copy what works for me, what's not, and just try to understand her game more, a little bit more.”
Milestones aplenty
Sunday’s three-set victory didn’t just mark Tjen’s first US Open win, it was also her first tour-level victory and her first Top-50 win. Previously, Tjen’s best win was over No. 86 Aoi Ito in the third round of qualifying last week.
