Chennai Open 2026: Janice Tjen reflects on rise, higher expectations and partnership with Venus Williams

Janice Tjen advanced to the Chennai Open 2026 semifinals after defeating Polina Kudermetova on Friday. | Photo Credit: RAGU R

“Booking tennis courts (in Indonesia) is a bit tough now.”

Without elaborating, Janice Tjen said it all. Indonesia, a country that lives and breathes badminton, is once again warming up to the sport with the heavier racquet.

Tjen’s rise is a major reason behind that. She had started the 2025 season outside the Top 400 in the WTA Rankings but by the end, she was World No. 56. Along the way, she also ended a 22-year wait for a win for an Indonesian woman at a Grand Slam during the US Open, finished runner-up at a WTA 250 in Sao Paulo and won her maiden Tour-level title at Chennai Open.

The 24-year-old Indonesian, who achieved a career-high of 35 in August, is back in the city to defend her crown. The top seed, currently ranked 75th, reached the semifinals on Friday with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russian-born Uzbek Polina Kudermetova.

Unlike last year, where Tjen dominated the ITF circuit, this season has been all about getting used to playing regularly on the WTA Tour where the level is much higher.

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“This year, I learned so much. Everyone has a lot of expectations of how well they want to do and it’s normal to be like that as a tennis player. It’s an important trait to have and just learning how to be able to bounce back, doing things one at a time and realising that this year, the competition has been way higher for me,” reflected Tjen, who had a 16-28 win-loss record on the WTA Tour before arriving in Chennai.

Tjen did have one major highlight this season. Last week, she played doubles with Venus Williams and reached the Guangzhou Open semifinals with the 46-year-old American legend calling it “her best partnership of the year.”

“With someone like Venus, there’s so much you can learn. It’s nice to hear what she said about our partnership and she’s a great player with a lot of experience,” said Tjen.

Does she see herself playing at 46?

“That’s pretty tough. Her love for tennis is amazing. She doesn’t need to play tennis anymore, but the fact that she’s still playing tennis is amazing, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that. We’ll see,” said the Indonesian who faces either local wild card Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi or USA’s Robin Montgomery in the semifinals.