WTA final for Janice Tjen and Aldila Sutjiadi

SAO PAULO, SATURDAY – After participating in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time due to a series of victories in ITF tournaments, Janice Tjen has entered the competition of the WTA Tour. In her debut at this level, Janice reached the final, following in the footsteps of her senior, Aldila Sutjiadi.

The two Indonesian female tennis players are competing in different tournaments and events in America this week. Janice is participating in the women's singles at the WTA 250 tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil, while Aldila is competing at a higher level, the WTA 500 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Aldila, who has focused on playing women's doubles since 2023, is partnering with Mexican player Giuliana Olmos.

Janice secured a ticket to the final after defeating the sixth seed from England, Francesca Jones, in the semifinal held on Saturday (13/9/2025) afternoon local time or early Sunday morning Indonesian time. Janice won with a score of 7-6 (0), 6-3.

This is very special. This is my first time playing in a WTA tournament, and getting to the final is a bonus.

Jones, ranked 85th in the world, became the third tennis player among four opponents defeated by Tjen with a higher ranking. The Indonesian player, ranked 130th in the world, defeated Leolia Jeanjean (ranked 95th) in the first round, Alexandra Eala (61) in the quarter-finals, and then Jones in the semi-finals. Jeanjean and Eala were also seeded players, being the seventh and third seeds, respectively.

"This is very special. I am competing for the first time in a WTA tournament and reaching the final is a bonus. However, the final is just another match in this tournament; we will see what I can do," said Janice on the official WTA website.

The 23-year-old tennis player will face fellow unseeded player from France, Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, in the final on Sunday afternoon local time. She is a 19-year-old player ranked 214th in the world.

Although ranked lower than Janice, Rajaonah has slightly more experience participating in WTA Tour tournaments. In addition to the US Open (where she was eliminated in the qualifying round), Rajaonah competed in the first round of the French Open at the Grand Slam venue. She also participated in another WTA 250 tournament in Rouen, France, in April, reaching the quarter-finals.

However, a more stable performance over the last 15 months has given Janice the opportunity to defeat Rajaonah in the final. Before getting the chance to appear on the Grand Slam stage, namely the US Open from the qualifying round to the second round, Janice has consistently performed well in ITF tournaments.

She returned to active competition in professional tennis in June 2024 after completing her studies at Pepperdine University, USA. Janice won 13 tournaments out of 22 finals.

At the US Open, Janice defeated the seeded player, Veronika Kudermetova, in the first round, then lost to Emma Raducanu in the second round. As a result of this performance, her ranking rose from 371st to 149th, allowing her to enter the next WTA Tour tournament.

Janice started from the lowest level, namely WTA 250, and made a surprise. She followed in the footsteps of Angelique Widjaja and Yayuk Basuki as Indonesian tennis players who have reached the WTA final in singles. When she reached the semifinals, Janice even became the first Indonesian singles player to do so after Angelique in 2002.

In the doubles category, there is Aldila who has focused on this event since 2023. The WTA Guadalajara final, against Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Irina Khromacheva, marks her second appearance at the WTA 500 level after WTA Strasbourg, France, in 2024. At that time, Aldila partnered with Asia Muhammad and lost to Cristina Busca/Monica Niculescu.

At a higher level, Aldila reached the third round of the women's doubles Grand Slam as her best result and has been a semifinalist in mixed doubles three times. The holder of five WTA 250 titles also became a finalist in the WTA Elite Trophy 2023 alongside Miyu Kato and has reached the semifinals of WTA 1000 twice.