What Janice Tjen said about Emma Raducanu ahead of US Open Round 2 clash
Few can forget Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open triumph.
Aged only 18, the Brit became one of the youngest Grand Slam singles champions of the Open Era, and the first-ever qualifier to win a major title.
Life on and off court has not been easy for Raducanu since then, and her opening-round win against Ena Shibahara was her first victory in New York since beating Leylah Fernandez in the 2021 final.
It took Raducanu just 62 minutes to storm into the second round, where she will face another qualifier in the form of Janice Tjen.
However, despite being ranked 19 places below Shibahara, Tjen may prove a much tougher test for the Brit.
Tjen shocked 24th seed and recent Cincinnati Open semi-finalist Veronika Kudermetova to reach the second round, becoming the first Indonesian to win a Grand Slam singles match since 2003.
It continues a stunning rise for the 23-year-old, who is a mere five months older than her next opponent.
The Indonesian was ranked 449th in the world at the start of 2025, though a staggering 59 match wins this season have propelled her inside the top 150.
Despite little separating Raducanu and Tjen by age, there is undeniably a huge difference in the career trajectories between the two women.
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And, when Raducanu was battling away to her memorable triumph in New York, Tjen was among those following her journey.
A player at Pepperdine College at the time, Tjen was sidelined due to injury and found herself immersed in Raducanu’s rise to tennis superstardom.
She said: “When Emma won the tournament and [was] having an incredible run here, I was actually in college, and I was injured at the time, so I got to watch a lot of tennis.
“Just seeing her doing it inspired me, to be able to do it as well. Emma is very big, everyone loves Emma at home.”
Raducanu and Tjen will not take to court until Wednesday, with opening-round action at the US Open spread across three days for the first time in 2025.
That gives both women two full days to prepare for this showdown, one that could be hugely intriguing.
After a confident few months, world No 35 Raducanu enters as a fairly warm favourite, though Tjen’s game style proved too tricky for Kudermetova to handle on Sunday.
The 23-year-old’s game has recently been compared to that of three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1 Ashleigh Barty, a comparison that Tjen revels in.
“Yeah, I’ve been hearing that a lot, And, yeah, she’s [Barty], I would say, like my role model,” said Tjen.
“I would, like, I watch a little bit of her matches and try to, like, copy, like, what works for me, what’s not, and just trying to understand her game more, a little bit more.”
After beating Kudermetova, Tjen is provisionally up to a new high of world No 126 in the WTA Live Rankings.
And, on Wednesday, she will hope to break even further ground with another big triumph.
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