In matching neon yellow kits, the first-time pairing of Alex Eala and Janice Tjen advanced to the doubles quarter-finals at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Tuesday.
“Go southeast Asia,” shouted Eala to the camera after they beat Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic in front of a packed Court 1 at Zayed Sports City.
Eala of the Philippines and Tjen of Indonesia have known each other since their junior days, and have teamed up in doubles for the first time this week, uniting their loyal fanbases, who served up an incredible atmosphere on Tuesday night.
Just like Eala, Tjen had a breakthrough 2025 campaign that saw her rocket up the rankings from 578 at the start of the season to a year-end 53 in the world.
Between April and October 2025, Tjen won 72 of the 84 matches she played across all levels.
Late summer at the US Open, she was ranked 149 in the world and managed to qualify for a Grand Slam main draw for the first time in her young career.
In her opening round in New York, she upset world No 24 Veronika Kudermetova to become the first Indonesian player to win a Grand Slam match since 2003.
A couple of weeks later, she reached her first WTA tour-level final in Sao Paulo and finished her 2025 season on a high note, by lifting a maiden WTA trophy in Chennai.
This week, the 23-year-old Tjen rose to a career-high No 47 in the world, becoming just the second Indonesian player in history to break into the top 50 on the WTA Tour, and the first since Yayuk Basuki, who spent time in that ranking bracket in the 1990s.
It’s a stunning ascent, especially given the fact that two years ago, Tjen was still at Pepperdine University playing college tennis and not fully certain she was going to turn pro.
Spurred by her coaches at Pepperdine, and her friend, Indonesian doubles specialist Aldila Sutjiadi, Tjen decided to give professional tennis a shot upon graduation.
She was unranked when she flew to Monastir, Tunisia, to contest a small ITF tournament in June 2024. She went on to win her first 20 matches and finished the year with a 41-3 record.
Tjen, a self-proclaimed introvert, is still getting used to everything that has come with her success on the tennis court.
Speaking to The National, Tjen was full of praise for another Pepperdine alum, Egyptian Mayar Sherif, who reached a career-high 31 in the world after graduating from university.
“She's like a Pepperdine legend. She did so well and we just follow her footsteps,” Tjen says of Sherif.
Does going from being unranked to a place in the top 50 in the span of 20 months feel like a whirlwind?
“I feel like I just take it day by day. I don't think too much about it,” she adds.
“But yeah, on paper, I would say, in my opinion, it was quite quick. It's quicker than I expected, but I'm just enjoying it; trying to get better and just have fun.”
At the Australian Open in Melbourne last month, Tjen was taken by surprise by the number of supporters who turned up for her first match. She rewarded them by claiming her biggest victory by ranking against No 23 Fernandez.
“The attention that I'm getting, I think that's a big surprise for me. And as somebody that's, I would say, pretty introverted, it's taken me by surprise,” she admits.
“It's nice, obviously, to receive this kind of attention and having the support from people and just feeling the love from them. It's amazing.”
Melbourne has been the standout experience for her so far since she turned pro.
“It was special,” she added. “I think a lot of Indonesians came out. It was a little bit different compared to the US Open when everybody started to have more attention on me. And I feel like this time in the Australian Open, it was like the closest slam from home as well. And just feeling the support, I really appreciate that.”
Tjen got into tennis in Jakarta by coincidence. Her childhood friend, Priska Nugroho, was a player, and won the 2020 Australian Open junior doubles title alongside Eala. Nugroho had her mother convince Tjen’s mother to join her at practice.
When she was 12, Tjen began to understand what being a professional tennis player meant, and started to watch the Grand Slams and other big tournaments on TV.
“That’s when it became a goal for me, a dream,” she recalls.
When her parents urged her to take the college tennis route, Tjen wasn’t fully on board.
“It was half and half, I would say,” she said. “Maybe more like upset because obviously I was very young. I didn't understand college that much. And yeah, I wanted to turn pro right away because that's always been my dream. And then having to go to college feels like putting a stop a little bit at that time.
“But looking back, I'm really grateful for my parents guiding me through that pathway.”
After a year at the University of Oregon, Tjen transferred to Pepperdine, where she studied sociology – a major she felt was manageable alongside her tennis.
Since she joined the WTA Tour, Tjen has mostly spent time with Sutjiadi, who is seven years her senior and is a top-50 doubles player.
“I have been on tour for less than a year. And I'm also pretty shy with people. So hopefully I'll make more and more friends on tour,” she adds.
Tjen is still based in Jakarta, but doesn’t spend much time at home given the intensity of the tennis schedule.
She started working with British coach Chris Bint last April, and he has been impressed by how she has adapted to the pro circuit.
“She's put in a lot of really hard work. And I think that's a credit to her. She'd come out of college, she never had a coach for five or six years properly, like an individual private coach,” Bint told The National this week in Abu Dhabi.
“So understanding what it takes to be a professional tennis player, the habits that go into that, the discipline required, and the professionalism around that as well, I think that's probably been a big turning point for her.
“Combine that with owning her identity on court and who she is as a person, who she wants to be known for. And as a player, her game style is quite unique, and there's a lot to work with there. And it can definitely cause trouble to a lot of girls. So yeah, it's just understanding that, getting her to understand that and credit to her, she's done that very well since we've been working together.”
Tjen boasts a heavy topspin forehand, which she combines with a crafty backhand slice. It’s a game reminiscent of former world No 1 Ashleigh Barty, who happens to be the Indonesian’s biggest inspiration.
“I was pretty bummed that I didn't get the chance to get to see her in Australia. But yeah, hopefully one day,” said Tjen of the retired Australian.
Tjen lost in the Abu Dhabi second round on Tuesday to fifth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova, but is still competing alongside Eala in doubles.
She says she stays connected to her home by finding Indonesian food while she’s on the road. She had an Indonesian meal the first day she arrived in Abu Dhabi.
Almost every new milestone for Tjen comes with a “first Indonesian since” statistic. And while making history can come with added pressure, she seems to be approaching it with a level head.
“I would say I embrace that [making history]. I don't think too much about that part. I just want to be the best version of myself and see where I can be, where that's going to take me and let it pan out,” she says.
Only Basuki has reached a higher ranking on the women’s tour; is becoming the highest-ranked Indonesian in WTA history a goal for Tjen?
“Yes and no, I would say. For me, it's always like, how can I be better? How can I be the best version of myself? And whether that's going to take me to be the best Indonesian player in history or not, I just try to fulfil what I can be.”
