(August 24, 2025) FLUSHING, NY – World No. 149, qualifier Janice Tjen became the first Indonesian player to win a match at a major in 22 years, beating No. 24 seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday in 2 hours, 11 minutes. She moved on to face the 2021 U.S. Open winner, who came through the qualifying rounds before winning her title in Flushing Meadows.
Angelique Widjaja was the last Indonesian player to win a match back at the 2004 US Open.
“It means a lot,” she said. “I feel proud to be able to do this for my country. Hopefully like this, by me making appearance here, will help, will inspire more tennis player, like, younger kids to play tennis and also, like, believing that, like, they can be here too.”
“I think I am pretty happy with how I played today, being able to execute everything that me and my coaches have planned. Pretty satisfied with it.”
Tjen cited Emma Raducanu as an inspiration.
“When Emma won the tournament and had an incredible run here, I was actually in college and I was injured at the time, so I got to watch a lot of tennis,” Tjen said. “Just seeing her doing it makes me, like, inspired to be able to do it as well.”
Tjen played in college at Pepperdine, where she was the NCAA doubles runner-up in 2024.
“I think during my college years I’m always, like, contemplating if I should go for it; should I not. And I think at the end I decided to try it out and the coaches at Pepperdine told me I think you should give it a try, at least for two years,” Tjen said. “So I trust them, and here I am.”
As fate would have it, she plays Raducanu in the second round.
“It’s going to be — well, my first thought is just, like, it’s going to be a big crowd, I would say, a bigger crowd playing against her,” Tjen said. “She’s a very well-known player and I’m just excited for the opportunity.”
