From college courts to Chennai glory: Janice Tjen’s breakthrough year in tennis

Twelve months ago, Janice Tjen was ranked in the 500s in the WTA singles rankings. On Monday, the 23-year-old from Indonesia moved to No. 53 in the world, capping off an incredible year by winning her first WTA Tour singles title at the Chennai Open -- and following it up with her second WTA doubles title in as many weeks just a few hours later.

Tjen’s rise has been historic. Her triumph in Chennai makes her the first player from Indonesia to win a WTA singles title in 23 years, and her new ranking of No. 53 is the second highest achieved by any Indonesian player on the professional tour. Only Yayuk Basuki, who peaked at No. 19, has gone higher.

This was Tjen’s second appearance in a WTA Tour-level final. She came close to winning the trophy in Sao Paulo in September but fell short against France’s Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah. Sunday’s win was even sweeter after that loss, which she described as heartbreaking.

“I’m very happy to be able to get the win this time because it was a heartbreaking loss the previous time,” the Indonesian player said. “I got to the final in Sao Paulo WTA 250 but luckily today, I came out on the better end.”

If you are looking to find out the secret to her stunning breakthrough over the past year, there isn’t any -- as Tjen pointed out herself after winning the singles title on Sunday.

“I don’t think there is any secret,” she said. “I think it’s just about putting in the work, trying to improve every aspect of my game, week in and week out. Also trying to learn from the previous losses and from the matches that I win as well.”

Tjen made it only as far as No. 93 in the world junior rankings, and while she honed her skills on the U.S. college circuit, few had earmarked her for this rapid breakthrough on the pro tour. The success has been unexpected even for Tjen, but she isn’t paying too much attention to the numbers.

“I would say it’s unexpected," she said. "On paper, the rankings do jump out a bit but I don’t really think too much about numbers. I just trying to work and see what’s going to happen. Me and my coach haven’t talked much about rankings and that stuff. We just want to keep improving, what can we do better and from the start of us working together, we said we're not going to talk about rankings until a year after that and we can look back and see where we are.”

Perhaps one of the biggest contributing factors to her rise has been that partnership with coach Christopher Bint.

“I had been struggling to find a coach that connects with me and has the same values," Tjen said. "Somehow, I got to connect with my coach Christopher Bint and it has been really good till now.”

The pair met at the end of last year when Bint was the national performance coach for Tennis New Zealand. They began a trial partnership in April and May before deciding to work together full time. But things haven’t been always easy for Tjen and her family, who come from a humble background in Indonesia. The financial challenges of pursuing a professional tennis career led the Tjens to opt for the U.S. college tennis route. Tjen first attended Oregon before moving to Pepperdine to complete her college career.

“Tennis is a very expensive sport where you have to travel and then you have to hire a coach," Tjen said. "All of these expenses add up and it's not easy for me and my family. Luckily there's a college route that helped me to continue to develop my game and put myself in a better position to turn pro."

Tjen is grateful for finding the right pathway to give her dream of competing at the highest level a chance. And she has a simple message for aspiring young players.

“I think my message would be don't lose hope," she said. "It's like for me, I always try to put myself in the best position to be able to compete to the highest level and never stop believing and hopefully like there will be like a chance, a pathway for other young players to be able to compete like in the highest level as well.”