Category: 6. Sports

Of the 12 players who successfully made it through US Open qualifying last week, Indonesia’s Janice Tjen garnered some of the most attention.

The 23-year-old’s rise since graduating from Pepperdine University with a degree in sociology last year had been meteoric. Unranked last May, Tjen won 100 out of 113 matches over the next 16 months to rise to No. 149 this week, sweeping up 13 ITF titles in the process. But her opener against No. 25 seed Veronika Kudermetova represented another step up in level. It was not only Tjen’s tour-level debut, but the first time she’d ever faced a Top 50 opponent.

US Open: Draws | Scores | Order of play

Tjen responded brilliantly, upsetting Kudermetova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 despite losing a break lead in the second set, and setting up a popcorn second-round encounter with Emma Raducanu. The seventh Indonesian woman to compete in a Grand Slam main draw in the Open Era, Tjen also snapped a long drought for her country at this level of the sport, becoming:

• The first Indonesian woman to win a Grand Slam match since Angelique Widjaja at Roland Garros 2023
• The first Indonesian woman to defeat a Top 30 player since Widjaja’s defeat of Patty Schnyder at Indian Wells 2003
• The first Indonesian woman to win a US Open main-draw match since Widjaja’s defeat of Anna Kournikova in the 2002 first round
• If Tjen beats Raducanu, she will be the first Indonesian woman to reach the third round of a major since former No. 19 Yayuk Basuki at Wimbledon 2000.

“I feel proud to be able to do this for my country,” Tjen told press afterwards. “Hopefully like this, by me making appearance here, will inspire more tennis player — like, younger kids to play tennis and also believing that they can be here too.”

Growing up in Jakarta, Tjen got her start in tennis by accident. Her friend, Priska Nugroho — then one of the country’s top juniors, and the 2020 Australian Open girls’ doubles champion with Alexandra Eala — persuaded her to try the sport. Tjen’s parents quickly acquiesced.

“My parents were just like, ‘Yeah, just go play the sport, just having exercise,’ so I’m not going to be in my room just doing nothing,” Tjen recalled with a smile.

Tjen patterned her game after a former World No. 1

Against Kudermetova, Tjen excelled with a throwback game style that’s become all too rare in tennis: sliced backhands, a powerful forehand with which she struck a slew of lethal angled winners and an eagerness to get to the net, where she won 20 out of 30 points.

“Me and my coach have been working on that,” Tjen said with satisfaction afterwards. “Just making sure that if it is a 50/50, we’re going in, coming into the net. And I would say we have a pretty good percentage of winning up at the net, so we would want to make more appearance up there.”

It’s all reminiscent of none other than former World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, who retired in 2022 — and it’s no surprise that Tjen has consciously patterned her game after the three-time major champion.

“I have been hearing that a lot,” Tjen said. “She’s, I would say, my role model. I would watch a little bit of her matches and try to copy what works for me, what’s not, and just trying to understand her game a little bit more.”

Tjen and Eala are both making history for south-east Asia in New York

On a strong day for south-east Asian tennis, Tjen’s breakthrough was mirrored by none other than her former junior rival Eala, who delivered Day 1’s only other seeded upset, knocking out No. 14 Clara Tauson in a Grandstand barnburner. Eala, the first Filipina to win a Grand Slam main-draw match in the Open Era, remembered Tjen well from their junior rivalry.

“Janice is super nice,” the 20-year-old told press. “I’ve known her for quite a long time. Growing up in the same region, we would run into each other a lot in the same tournaments. You know, I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with her recently. I know she was in college. I’m so happy for her, and it’s nice to see someone that you grew up with in the biggest stages in the world.”

Eala had the narrow edge in their 2018-19 junior days, leading their head-to-head at that level 2-1.

Tjen was encouraged by her college coaches and a fellow Indonesian player

Going pro was never an automatic decision for Tjen. After finishing with juniors, the travel costs involved meant that she and her parents opted for the college tennis pathway — which she feels paid off after her coaches at Pepperdine University helped to develop her game. And after spending her college career contemplating whether or not she should turn pro, they were also instrumental in encouraging her.

“The coaches at Pepperdine told me I think you should give it a try, at least for two years,” she said. “So I trust them, and here I am!”

The only other Indonesian player at the US Open — doubles No. 48 Aldila Sutjiadi — was also a key figure in Tjen’s emergence.

“I am really, really close with Aldila,” Tjen said. “She’s always been like a good older sister to me, taking care of me, guiding me, and telling me, ‘This is what you need to do.’ She’s also one of the people that convinced me that I should give it a try. It’s very nice to be around another Indonesian here.”

In her spare time, Tjen is a Mario Kart fan

Tennis isn’t Tjen’s only competitive endeavor. In her downtime, she and her coach continue to battle hard — playing Mario Kart.

“We’ve been grinding on that one,” she told press.

Only one on the video game’s characters will do for Tjen, though — the green dinosaur Yoshi.

“I’ve been into Mario Kart since I was reall young, and it’s always my go-to character,” she said. “I would be a little bit not happy if somebody took that. I would be like, ‘Nope, that’s my character.’”

 

SEOUL:

Germany youth international Jens Castrop received his first call-up Monday to the South Korean squad as he looks to make his case for inclusion at next year’s World Cup.

Born in Germany to a Korean mother and German father, the 22-year-old midfielder made his Bundesliga debut on Sunday as a substitute for Borussia Moenchengladbach.

He has consistently played for Germany at youth level, including the under-21 side, but now looks set to represent South Korea.

Captain Son Heung-min, who recently left Tottenham for Los Angeles FC, was also in coach Hong Myung-bo’s 26-man squad for friendlies against World Cup hosts the United States and Mexico next month.

“Although Castrop is young he is a player who has consistently grown, gaining experience in the Bundesliga,” Hong told reporters.

“Above all, I highly value the strong will and sense of responsibility he has shown in his desire to join our national team,” he added.

South Korea will make their 11th consecutive appearance at the World Cup in 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

They play the United States on September 6 in New Jersey and face Mexico three days later in Nashville.

South Africa stalwart and former captain Dané van Niekerk has been named in a 20-member squad for a home training camp as the Proteas begin preparations for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

Van Niekerk, who announced her retirement from international cricket last year, confirmed her decision to reverse that call through a heartfelt statement on social media.

“I’m thrilled to announce that I have decided to revoke my retirement from international cricket,” she wrote.

“The time away has reminded me just how much I’ve missed representing my country, and I’m fully committed to giving everything to once again have that opportunity.”

The training camp will begin on August 25 in Durban and run through September. 

Following its conclusion, South Africa will travel to Pakistan for a three-match ODI series starting September 16, their final assignment before the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Notably absent from the camp squad are captain Laura Wolvaardt and experienced all-rounders Chloé Tryon and Marizanne Kapp, who are currently competing in The Hundred.

Meanwhile, uncapped all-rounder Luyanda Nzuza, who represented South Africa in the U19 Women’s World Cup earlier this year, has earned her first senior call-up.

Head coach Mandla Mashimbyi expressed excitement about the upcoming camp and emphasised its importance in fine-tuning preparations for the global tournament.

“It’s a very exciting time to be part of this group as we build towards the World Cup. The players have put in a huge amount of work over the past few months to be ready for that first ball against England in India,” Mashimbyi said.

“This camp in Durban will be crucial in helping us finalise key areas of our preparation, making sure we tick every box before we board the plane as a united force. Pakistan will also serve as an important measure of where we are as a team ahead of the tournament.”

“In terms of the squad, we’ve worked hard to ensure the right balance and skillset needed for a successful World Cup. We’ve also brought in the likes of Luyanda and Dané to take a closer look at what they can contribute to the group in the near future.”

The final squads for both the Pakistan series and the World Cup will be announced in early September.

Proteas squad for national camp:

Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Lara Goodall, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Luyanda Nzuza, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Miané Smit, Faye Tunnicliffe, Dané van Niekerk.

On paper, Loh Kean Yew enjoyed a fairly comfortable straight-games first-round win at the 2025 BWF World Championships.

A 21–15, 21–12 victory secured in 31 minutes against Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius saw the Singaporean through to the last 32 in Paris, France, on Monday (25 August).

But badminton isn’t played on paper. And Loh, the 2021 world champion, admitted he felt rusty on court.

“It took me quite a while [to find my rhythm],” he told Olympics.com after his match, which saw Paul take a 6–1 lead in the first game before Loh rallied back into contention with eight consecutive points.

The second game saw the two locked at 6–6 before, once more, Loh dug deep to pull away.

“I haven’t played a tournament for quite some time, in almost two months, so I had to take quite a while to get into the feel,” the 28-year-old said.

It was anything but straightforward as Paul, who had nothing to lose against the ninth-seeded Loh, never quite let the Singaporean settle into a groove.

“I think it was almost as expected, in a way, because I’ve played him before and it was quite a tight match also, especially in the first set before so I was quite ready for it,” Loh explained.

“Just like I was saying before, I’m not really into the tournament feel — couldn’t get the feeling.”

However, Loh did manage to secure the win, which puts him into the second round against either England’s Harry Huang or Kalle Koljonen of Finland. A potential third-round match awaits against Japan’s Naraoka Kodai, against whom Loh has not lost in six attempts.

But all that would be looking too far forward. The Singaporean is happy to be in the round of 32, and that is his immediate focus.

“Yes, of course,” Loh confirmed laughing when asked if it was a case of taking it round-by-round.

If he’s able to find the rhythm quicker in his upcoming matches, don’t rule out a deep run.

Subject to geo-restrictions, live streaming of selected rounds of the BWF World Championships 2025 is available on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the Olympics mobile apps.

MUNICH (Germany) – The countdown is on, as FIBA EuroBasket 2025 tips off in a matter of hours.

The reason why we’re all here again is because most of the rosters are set now, while the friendly games are all over. That allows us to move teams up or down in the Smart Power Rankings, again.

#1 Serbia (0)

Instead of telling you once again how great these guys are, here’s one for you, based on the debate we were having at lunch over here at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Smart Power Rankings Headquarters:

Has to be 2025, right? Right?

#2 Germany (0)

Losing David Kramer is tough, because the latest Real Madrid signing is one of those Kyle Korver, JJ Redick, Jaycee Carroll, Andreas Obst kind of guys, always moving and shifting the gravity center of the German offense.

Still, back-to-back wins over Spain keep them at #2 here. Must have been sweet for coach Alex Mumbru to get them against Sergio Scariolo, who was his coach when they won the FIBA EuroBasket in 2009.

#3 France (0)

One would assume France are in trouble because of all the absentees. One would be wrong.

France sent out a message, loud and clear, as they defeated Greece 92-77, with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the lineup, in Athens. In fact, these guys have forgotten how to lose: unbeaten in the Qualifiers, unbeaten this summer, this is what people mean when they say “building winning habits.”

Mark your calendars, August 30 has them facing Luka Doncic’s Slovenia in Katowice.

#4 Greece (+4)

Hey now! We told you we’d move Greece up as soon as we got to see Giannis in action, and it was everything we imagined, and more. The Greek Freak is looking as good as ever, ready to destroy everybody standing in his way.

But it’s not just him. Greece had a massive 27-12 quarter against Italy, erasing a 10-point deficit with some fine shooting and stellar defense in a game which their superstar sat out.

They have not medaled at EuroBasket since 2009. Just saying.

#5 Lithuania (-1)

Power Rankings are rude.

Lithuania barely missed a beat all summer long, and then one narrow defeat to Türkiye in a friendly, and we bump them down one spot.

Anyway, keep an eye on their bigs shooting. Jonas Valanciunas and Azuolas Tubelis iced Iceland by shooting 5-of-5 from beyond the arc.

It’s like the Dutch Total Football concept, but in basketball, because the guards can push you down and the bigs can spread you out. Total Basketball.

#6 Türkiye (+1)

So, here’s why the Power Rankings include a feeling, instead of pure numbers. Türkiye went 3-2 in their preparation games this summer, which doesn’t sound all that convincing.

But hey, those two defeats were to Lithuania and Germany, and both occured in their first two games, so coach Ergin Ataman’s men are actually on a three-game winning streak ahead of the EuroBasket, including the aforementioned win over Lithuania, on the road in Vilnius no less.

Hey, don’t forget about this guy when you’re talking about potential MVPs:

#7 Latvia (-2)

So, here’s why the Power Rankings include a feeling, instead of pure numbers. Latvia went 2-3 in their preparation games this summer, which doesn’t sound all that bad considering they played Italy twice, Lithuania, Slovenia and Greece.

But hey, those three defeats saw them give up 304 points total, and in two of them they allowed 104+ points, so coach Luca Banchi’s men actually have some defensive issues that need to be taken care of ahead of their matchups with Serbia, Türkiye, Portugal, Estonia and Czechia.

Hey, don’t forget about this guy when you’re talking about potential MVPs:

#8 Italy (-2)

Two defeats since we last talked here. Two spots down, simple as that.

On a bit more in-depth note, the first half against Greece was really something, they opened up a 10-point lead in Athens, with Simone Fontecchio cruising to 13 points before the break.

You never feel like he is forcing the issue, you don’t even feel like he’s having a mindblowing game and then you look at the numbers and think, “hey, don’t forget about this guy when you’re talking about potential MVPs.”

#9 Finland (0)

How do you say perfect in Finnish? They were one of three teams with a 100 percent record this summer, alongside Serbia and France, and the only reason we don’t have them higher up in the Power Rankings is because we only got to see them against Belgium and Poland.

Want us to continue the “hey, don’t forget about this guy when you’re talking about potential MVPs” theme? Fine.

Hey, don’t forget about this guy when you’re talking about potential MVPs – of FIBA EuroBasket 2029! What are they feeding these kids in Finland!?

#10 Spain (+1)

Weird to have a team that went 1-5 in six preparation games in the Top 10, right? Wrong. Because it’s the reigning champions.

Two of those Spanish defeats were one-possession games, two more were by single digits, so when you think about it, they could’ve been 5-1 with a bit of luck. Or that familiar Spanish major event mentality when they always end up winning clutch games.

#11 Slovenia (-1)

Just a 1-5 record for Slovenia this summer, their sole win coming against Great Britain, and an abysmal 106-72 defeat to Serbia just before they packed their bags and travelled to Katowice.

You could say we should’ve pushed them lower because of that record and that defeat. You could also say we have them too low because they have Luka Doncic.

You would be right in both cases. This edition of Junaki is causing plenty of debates within our editorial team, too.

#12 Israel (0)

That’s a long break between the last preparation game (against Montenegro, August 17) and the first EuroBasket game (against Iceland, August 28).

In the meantime, they announced their final roster, and it’s looking like the strongest one they’ve had in a long time, with Deni Avdija being the obvious leader, guys like Yam Madar or Khadeen Carrington capable of winning games on their hot day, and plenty of tough role players with loads of international experience.

Feels like they are somewhere between Round of 16 and the Quarter-Finals right now. So yeah, exactly at 12.

#13 Montenegro (+1)

One spot up thanks to their win over Israel and 85 points scored against Türkiye in Istanbul.

It sounds crazy that these guys will be legit contenders for a spot in the Round of 16 when they won’t have Bojan Dubljevic, Jovan Kljajic, Nikola Ivanovic, Petar Popovic, Nemanja Radovic, Dino Radoncic, Luka Bogavac, David Mirkovic and Andrija Grbovic.

Excited to see what Kyle Allman brings to this team!

#14 Estonia (-1)

We’re kinda angry at you, Estonia. We were about to promote you a spot or two, but your horrid shooting night from beyond the arc against Great Britain pointed the boat in the other direction.

That’s right. They shot 3-of-28 from three-point range against Team GB. And they lost Maik-Kalev Kotsar to injury, so these are some troubled times ahead of the short trip to Riga.

#15 Poland (0)

Nobody was as busy as the Polish co-hosts this summer, putting together eight friendly games. They won three of them, which is fine, but they were against three teams below them in the Power Rankings.

That’s good for their Round of 16 ambitions, but bad for their hey-we-were-fourth-three-years-ago-we-should-do-it-again-sometimes ambitions.

Remember 2022? We remember 2022.

#16 Portugal (+1)

With Estonia losing Maik-Kalev Kotsar, and Czechia losing Tomas Satoransky, are we supposed to consider Portugal as “best of the rest” in Group A, behind Serbia, Türkiye and Latvia?

That’s a wild thing to say considering Portugal last won a FIBA EuroBasket game in 2007.

But it’s also not a wild thing to say at all, because if you watched them this summer, and if you followed them during the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers, and if you know their recent club results… that’s a lot of ifs, but what we’re saying is:

Portugal in the Round of 16 is not a wild notion, not one bit.

#17 Bosnia and Herzegovina (+1)

Yeah, good luck trying to figure out this team. They went 0-4 in their first four warm-up games, allowing 100+ points in back-to-back games against Serbia and Montenegro.

They lost Dzanan Musa to injury. They lost Xavier Castaneda to injury. We were ready to put them in the 20+ section of this piece.

But, BIH being BIH, they bounced back to win three straight games by 13 points or more. Good luck trying to figure them out, we said.

#18 Georgia (-2)

Putting them at 18 is generous because they are one of only two teams (Cyprus) without a win this summer.

But it’s also a testament to their talent, everybody knows Tornike Shengelia could propel them to Round of 16 by himself if needed.

#19 Belgium (0)

One win over Great Britain, five defeats to Greece, Finland (twice) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (twice), plenty of question marks ahead of the event.

They get to keep their spot here, because we don’t want to push them down as coach Dario Gjergja celebrated his 50th birthday just the other day, we’re paying attention to stuff like that, and because even when their results don’t look impressive, their videos do:

#20 Sweden (+1)

One win and four defeats so far this summer. But that one win occured way back on August 9, which feels like a century ago with all these games and news and roster changes all over the continent.

We moved them up one spot because when you scratch the surface just that tiny bit, you realize they were inches away from being 3-2 this summer, because they had three one-possession losses to Poland, Iceland and Estonia.

#21 Iceland (+1)

They couldn’t do anything against Lithuania’s frontcourt the other day, but there were some positives for Iceland, especially offensively, with six men finishing in double digits in that preparation game.

Getting their first EuroBasket win is not going to be an easy task, but don’t be surprised if it happens by Iceland scoring 90 or more points instead of keeping the opponent under 70.

#22 Great Britain (+1)

One spot up after a solid defensive showing in Estonia, holding the hosts to 62 points on the day.

Do that over the next two weeks and we could witness their first EuroBasket win since 2013, when Andrew Lawrence put up 23 points and Myles Hesson pulled down 11 rebounds to stun Germany in Ljubljana.

Myles is still here, btw, 12 years later. Longevity matters.

#23 Czechia (-1)

No Tomas Satoransky and life is not fair and we don’t want to talk about it because they are arguably the most unlucky team of the last two FIBA EuroBasket tournaments combined and it’s heartbreaking because they don’t deserve it and we’re not talking about it life is not fair.

#24 Cyprus (0)

The idea is the same each time we’re putting the Power Rankings together and Cyprus comes up. It’s all about the learning experience, because their two friendly games were far from perfect this summer.

Anything they do in the main event will go down in history, because this is their first time playing the biggest continental championship.

Note:The Power Rankings are entirely subjective and is in no way a true, accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.

Lee Zii Jia‘s stay at the 2025 BWF World Championships was a short one.

Playing in the Adidas Arena in Paris, where just over a year ago the shuttler won an Olympic bronze medal, Lee suffered a 41-minute straight-games defeat (17–21, 11–21) on Monday (25 August) at the hand of Republic of Korea’s Jeon Hyeok-jin.

But, the way Lee moved around freely on court and threw himself into dives to try to save points, one might not realise he is fresh off the back of a major ankle injury which has seen him miss five months of action and limited him to just two tournaments all year.

“The first priority was to get injury-free and I think I did it,” Lee told Olympics.com after his match. “For now, I can [be] 100 per cent sure that my injury is healed.”

Lee managed to stick with Jeon well in the first game, playing a few nice-looking smashes while testing his ankle. However, Jeon asserted his dominance in the second and managed to pull away.

While the Malaysian had said before the tournament he was not setting himself any goals, he admitted that a first-round exit still hurt. “Definitely [disappointed]. I have to try to accept the situation which I have been away for five months, and it’s not easy to come back here to the same level as I have [been before].

“The upcoming [plan] is Hong Kong [Open] and the China Masters as well, it’s back-to-back tournaments and definitely I have to prepare [to be] more ready.

“I think the priority is to get back the tournament feeling and also the level that I used to be at.”

In the Team Japan camp, Ogami Tomoki is enjoying his time at the 6DAYS® Italia. For him, it is a great opportunity for Japan to compete on the world stage of Enduro.

Although Japan does not have a World Trophy team for 2025, he hopes their presence in the Club Team Award categories will prepare them for future editions.

“We don’t have Japanese riders at international level for Enduro,” Tomoki explains. “We don’t have anyone competing in the FIM EnduroGP World Championship, that’s why it’s important to be here at the 6DAYS®.

“We need to help our riders experience this high standard of racing and build for the future. Bringing riders to the 6DAYS® Italia gives us that. Hopefully by coming, racing, learning and improving, we can develop a good base for the next generation.”

Organising the logistics required to compete at the 6DAYS® Italia takes a lot of planning, especially when travelling from Japan.

“It takes a lot of preparation to organise everything to race here. We start to make plans when the pre-entry list opens for registration. We speak with riders to see who is available. We also talk with teams for support, bike rental and servicing, so we can have everything we need when we arrive.

“There is a lot of work beforehand to ensure that these two weeks run smoothly. It was very nice to join Finland to walk the special tests, that was a great help.

“I really enjoy everything about the 6DAYS®. It’s such a pleasure to come here. But of course, seeing your riders do their best and reach the finish line on Day Six is the most rewarding part of it all.”

For the first time at the 6DAYS® Japan have four entries in the Club Teams Award category, and with one Japanese rider also registered in an Italian Club Team, there are a total of thirteen riders representing the Asian nation this year in Bergamo.