Three Indonesian Tennis Players on One Stage in Chennai

A rare moment for Indonesian tennis occurs in a professional tournament. Aldila Sutjiadi is no longer alone in competing in the WTA Tour. She is accompanied by her "younger sisters," Janice Tjen and Priska Madelyn Nugroho, at the WTA Chennai, India, from October 27 to November 2, 2025.

After the tournament was postponed for the first two days due to rain, the three of them played on the same day at the SDAT Tennis Stadium, Chennai, India, Thursday (30/10/2025).

Janice competed in the second round of the women's singles against the defending champion from the Czech Republic, Linda Fruhvitova, and won 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Her performance in the first set was witnessed by Aldila, who sat on the court under an umbrella due to the hot weather accompanied by light rain.

In the evening, Janice played again, teaming up with Aldila who was solely focused on the doubles event. Interestingly, the draw matched this bronze medal-winning pair from the women's doubles at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games with Priska, who partnered with Russian tennis player Sofia Lansere. In a tightly contested match in the third set, Aldila/Janice emerged victorious with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 12-10.

Priska also played in the women's singles as a lucky loser, a player who was eliminated in qualifying but eventually made the main draw to replace a withdrawn player. She played her first round of the women's singles tournament on Tuesday, losing to home seed Sahaja Yamalapalli, 4-6, 2-6.

Thus, on Friday, Indonesian tennis fans can watch the performances of Aldila and Janice in the quarter-finals. Janice will face Mia Pohankova in singles. After having sufficient rest, she and Aldila will compete against the Indian pair, Vaishnavi Adkar/Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi.

The moment when three "Red and White" tennis players appear in a single WTA Tour tournament is a rare occurrence. This is due to the limited number of tennis athletes from the country competing at the professional level, let alone at the WTA Tour level.

In the structure of the professional women's tournament, the WTA Tour consists of WTA 250, 500, and 1000, ranging from the lowest to the highest level. In addition, there are Grand Slams, which represent the highest level and have their own governing body for their organization.

The WTA also has the WTA Finals held at the end of each competition season. This event is only participated in by eight representatives, each from singles and doubles, who have achieved the best results throughout the year.

For tennis players who have not yet been able to enter the WTA Tour competition due to insufficient rankings, the WTA organizes the WTA 125. In addition, there are professional tournaments under the structure of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) known as the World Tennis Tour (WTT), which is divided into several levels based on the prize money and ranking points contested. WTT participants are typically players with lower rankings compared to those in WTA tournaments.

The WTA Chennai was first held in 2003 with a Tier IV level. At that time, the WTA used Tiers I to IV to determine the ranking of tournament levels.

Former world number one tennis player with 23 Grand Slam titles, Serena Williams, became the champion in 2008 before the tournament was not held from 2009 to 2021.

When it was held again in 2022, WTA Chennai was a WTA 250 tournament, the lowest level on the WTA Tour, which Fruhvitova won.

Among the three Indonesian female tennis players competing in Chennai, Aldila is the most experienced in the WTA Tour competition. She has been competing in professional tennis since 2010.

According to WTA data, Aldila made her WTA 250 debut in Chicago, United States, in August 2021. She competed from the qualifying rounds, reached the main draw, but lost in the first round. The increasing competitiveness in singles has led Aldila to focus solely on doubles since 2023, after having always played in both singles and doubles.

The highest achievement of the 30-year-old tennis player is reaching the third round of women's doubles in all Grand Slam tournaments. In mixed doubles, Aldila reached the semifinals of the French Open and Wimbledon 2023, as well as the US Open 2024. She became a finalist in the 2023 WTA Elite Trophy (partnering with Miyu Kato), the second tier of the WTA Finals tournament.

Aldila has five WTA Tour doubles titles from nine finals, in addition to being a semifinalist at the WTA 1000 Indian Wells 2023. She reached her highest position in the doubles world ranking that year, achieving the 26th rank.

Priska, who became the junior girls' doubles champion at the 2020 Australian Open (alongside Alexandra Eala from the Philippines), is not new to the WTA Tour. She competed in the WTA 250 Jiujiang in November 2024, losing in the first round after progressing from the qualifying stage.

However, consistently having the opportunity to compete in the WTA Tour is not an easy task as it requires a favorable position in the rankings. Due to the ongoing difficulty in breaking into the WTA Tour competition, Priska is honing her skills in the WTT series and occasionally in WTA 125 events. Priska has won 10 titles in women's singles and 15 titles in women's doubles at ITF tournaments.

Two weeks before competing in Chennai, Priska participated in the WTA 125 Jinan, which was also attended by Janice. Priska reached the semifinals, while Janice emerged as the champion.

For Janice, the WTA Chennai is part of her quest to gain as much experience as possible in the WTA Tour tournaments, after moving up from WTT tournaments and university tennis. Like Aldila and Priska, Janice is seeking competitive experience from universities in the United States.

Becoming a tennis player through college in the United States has become a choice for Indonesian tennis players who wish to develop themselves. This option arises because entering the professional arena not only requires high-level skills but also significant financial resources.

Participating in professional sports competitions means one must be able to finance all necessary expenses independently, such as renting training fields, finding coaches or sparring partners, and participating in tournaments in various countries. This does not yet include the needs related to nutrition and injury management.

Studying in the United States has become a choice because this country has a solid competition for aspiring athletes. At the university level, there is a prestigious sports competition, the NCAA, which also serves as a training ground for Indonesian female tennis players. After that, they then choose the path to a higher level.

Janice was motivated by her coach at Pepperdine University, as well as by Aldila, to attempt to return to the professional competition she had left behind during her studies. She returned to professional tournaments in June 2024 after a 20-month absence.

"My experience playing in university tennis helped me overcome difficulties at this level, including in matches like the one just now. I experienced it during my time at university," said Janice after defeating Fruhvitova in an interview with WTA.

When facing Fruhvitova, Janice was trailing 0-2 in the second and third sets after losing the first set. She rallied by breaking her opponent's serve three times in both sets.

I am very happy to see other Indonesian athletes. There are friends with whom I can speak in Indonesian. When there are more Indonesian athletes on the WTA Tour, it will certainly be more exciting and enjoyable. (Aldila Sutjiadi)

"Actually, no matter what the score is, I always fight. Thanks to the coach who always supports me. It feels great to win the match in a rather difficult situation," said Janice.

The 23-year-old tennis player advanced from the WTT tournament through the Grand Slam route. With 13 titles from 15 WTT tournament finals, Janice's ranking improved, allowing her to compete in the US Open through the qualifying rounds. She reached the main draw despite losing in the second round to Emma Raducanu.

After that moment, Janice added another milestone to her list of accomplishments. She reached the final of the WTA Sao Paulo Open, her first WTA 250 tournament.

Another first came at the WTA 1000 in Beijing. Janice competed in qualifying but lost in the first round.

In fact, this is not the first time that three Indonesian female tennis players, or at least two of them, have participated in the same tournament. However, the presence of these three "Merah Putih" athletes in Chennai marks the first occurrence in the WTA Tour abroad. In addition to the WTA 125 Jinan, another tournament, the WTA 125 Suzhou, held from September 29 to October 5, was attended by Aldila and Janice. They won the women's doubles title.

Before Janice, Aldila, and Priska competed in Chennai, the last moment of Indonesian tennis players gathering in a single WTA Tour tournament occurred at WTA Bali 2008. At that time, there were Sandy Gumulya, Ayu Fani Damayanti, and Lavinia Tananta competing in the singles category. That year marked the last year of the WTA Bali event at the Tier III level, equivalent to the current WTA 250.

Quite a number of Indonesian tennis players have had the opportunity to compete at the WTA Bali, either by qualifying through the rankings, playing in qualifying, or receiving wildcards as host players. In 2006, eight Indonesian players competed in singles and doubles. They included Yayuk Basuki, Angelique Widjaja, Ayu, and Sandy.

When Indonesia no longer has a WTA Tour tournament, local tennis players set their own agenda by choosing tournaments abroad. On the other hand, not many Indonesian tennis players are willing and able to compete in the professional arena due to various obstacles.

Therefore, Aldila welcomed the presence of Janice and Priska at the WTA Tour with great enthusiasm. "I am very happy to have other Indonesian athletes. There are friends with whom I can speak in Indonesian. When there are more Indonesian athletes in the WTA Tour, it will certainly be more exciting and enjoyable," said Aldila after winning the WTA 125 Suzhou alongside Janice.