Janice Tjen's Ranking Surge

CHENNAI, MONDAY – Along with her achievements, tennis player Janice Tjen's position in the women's singles world ranking continues to rise. She is currently ranked 53rd after having no ranking 17 months prior.

The 53rd position was secured after Janice won the WTA 250 in Chennai, India, from October 27 to November 2. In the final held on Sunday (November 2, 2025), Janice defeated Australian tennis player Kimberly Birrell with a score of 6-4, 6-3.

About an hour after winning the singles title, Janice triumphed in doubles alongside her senior, Aldila Sutjiadi. In the final, the second-seeded pair defeated the top seeds, Storm Hunter/Monica Niculescu (Australia/Romania), with a score of 7-5, 6-4.

Janice has matched the achievements of the world’s eighth-ranked tennis player, Jasmine Paolini, and Maya Joint, who both won two titles from a single WTA tournament in 2025. Paolini claimed victory in both the women's singles and doubles at the WTA 1000 in Rome, while Joint achieved this at the WTA 250 in Rabat.

This title marks the first for Janice in the WTA Tour tournament in the singles category. For Indonesian tennis, Janice becomes the successor to her seniors, Yayuk Basuki and Angelique Widjaja.

Yayuk has six championship titles from 1991 to 1994 at the Tier IV and V levels. Meanwhile, Angelique became the champion of the WTA Tier III in Bali 2001 and Tier IV in Pattaya 2002. The lower the tier number, the higher the level of the tournament.

If equated with the tournament structure of the WTA Tour used since 2021 to the present, the WTA 250 Chennai is similar to a Tier III tournament. Above the WTA 250, there are the WTA 500 and 1000 levels.

Janice won the WTA Tour Chennai after reaching the final at the same level in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in September, but lost. Her first title from the WTA was obtained at the WTA 125 in Jinan, China, from October 13 to 18.

In doubles competition, the 23-year-old athlete secured her second WTA Tour title after winning the WTA 250 Guangzhou alongside Polish player Kataryzna Piter. Additionally, Janice triumphed in the women's doubles WTA 125 Suzhou with Aldila.

The WTA Chennai championship title has propelled Janice 29 places up in the world rankings. Her rise is the second highest among the top 100 tennis players in the world this week.

The highest increase, which is 32 places, was achieved by Anna Blinkova. After winning the WTA 250 Jiujiang, the Russian tennis player rose to the 63rd position from 95.

In the doubles category, Janice rose from rank 103 to 83. Meanwhile, Aldila is ranked 52, climbing ten positions compared to last week.

The position held by Janice makes her the second-best ranked female tennis player from Indonesia after Yayuk. The player, who competed in the professional arena from 1990 to 2013, achieved a world ranking of 19 in 1997, the year when Yayuk reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, marking her best result in Grand Slam events. Janice surpassed Angelique, who attained her highest ranking at 55 in 2003.

Janice reached this stage after returning to the professional tennis arena in June 2024, following her graduation from Pepperdine University in the United States. Returning to the ITF tournament without a world ranking, she brought with her the knowledge and experience gained from intercollegiate tournaments in the US.

A total of 13 championship titles in ITF professional tournaments from 16 finals, between June 2024 and August 2025, elevated her status. She received a qualifying ticket for the US Open Grand Slam. Janice's advancement to the second round of the US Open opened the door wider to the WTA Tour, culminating in her victory in Chennai.

In the tournament among elite female tennis players at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, defending champion Cori "Coco" Gauff lost in her first appearance in the Steffi Graf Group. Coco was defeated by fellow American player Jessica Pegula with a score of 3-6, 7-6 (4), 2-6. In the same group, world number one Aryna Sabalenka triumphed over Jasmine Paolini, 6-3, 6-1.

Coco's biggest weakness in that match was her serve, which has also been a shortcoming over the past two years. Coco made 17 double faults, with nine serves that were broken by Pegula.

"Of course, I am a bit frustrated with the service. Overall, the match was indeed very tough. Jess played very well and was more clever compared to when we played in Wuhan," said Coco, referring to the moment when she defeated Pegula in the WTA 1000 final in Wuhan, October 6-12.

With that defeat, Coco must win in two other matches in the group, against Sabalenka and Paolini, to open up the opportunity for the semifinals. Two victories are needed for Coco to have a chance to secure a top two ranking as a requirement to advance to the semifinals.

The competition in the tournament at the end of the season will continue with the Serena Williams Group stage on Monday. The first match will feature the players who won their matches on the first day, Saturday, namely Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina. Following that, Amanda Anisimova will face Madison Keys.

Meanwhile, the men's ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris was won by Jannik Sinner. Sinner defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the final and secured the top position in the world ranking with this victory. Sinner displaced Carlos Alcaraz, who dropped to second place. (AFP/Reuters)