Emma Raducanu gets reality check from US Open rival who had ‘no idea how tennis worked’ | Tennis | Sport

Emma Raducanu will continue her US Open campaign on Wednesday as she takes on qualifier Janice Tjen. The world No. 149 made her Grand Slam main draw debut on Sunday and stunned 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova, becoming the first Indonesian woman to win a match at a Major tournament in 22 years.

But just a few months ago, according to her own coach, Tjen had “no idea how professional tennis worked”. The 23-year-old is still getting to grips with things like rankings and scheduling, and will be a huge underdog against former champion Raducanu.

The Brit knows exactly what it’s like to come through the preliminary rounds here – she made history in 2021, becoming the only qualifier ever to win a Slam when she was still a teenager, and Tjen has been inspired by her success.

However, Tjen’s coach, Chris Bint, believes the Indonesian qualifier won’t be bothered by taking on Raducanu, stating that it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the net.

“It doesn’t really matter who’s down the other side of the court. At the end of the day, it’s just another tennis match,” the British-born coach told Ubitennis.

“We have a phrase which is ‘the ball doesn’t care.’ The ball doesn’t care what kind of court you’re on. Whether it’s a big court, stadium court, US Open or at an ITF 15K.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Raducanu down the other end or someone unranked. We’re just going to treat it like any other match and we’ll focus on like I say we’re doing what Janice does well.”

It’s no surprise that Tjen isn’t fussed about facing top opponents. When Bint first met the Indonesian player in April, he discovered that she was still getting used to life on the professional circuit.

He added: “She had no idea about how professional tennis worked, how many tournaments count towards her rankings.

“She wouldn’t be able to tell you now what her ranking is and she’s got no idea about scheduling and how much you should be training and in the gym. She was extremely raw.

“It’s more about doing the right things day in, day out for the next 52 weeks. Janice has got some amazing personal values and performer attributes, and that was one of the biggest reasons why I decided to take on this role.”

Tjen has already caused one big upset against No. 24 seed and recent Cincinnati Open semi-finalist Kudermetova in the opening round, and she’ll be hoping to do the same against Raducanu when they meet for the first time.

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