Janice Tjen, who is the second seed in the SEA Games 2025 tennis women’s singles tournament, was forced to retire in her semifinals match.
NONTHABURI — Alex Eala’s rematch with Janice Tjen will have to wait as the Indonesian ace was forced to retire during her semifinals match of the SEA Games 2025 here at the National Tennis Development Center on Tuesday.
Tjen, seeded second in the tournament, took a medical timeout earlier in the first set against Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
The WTA world no. 54 had tied the match 4-all after a sluggish performance early, but couldn’t keep up the pace as she struggled even with her service games.
Sawangkaew ended up winning the opener, 6-4, and moments before the second set began, Tjen’s side confirmed that she will be retiring from the match. It was later updated that Tjen was dealing with breathing issues.
Tjen's sudden development dashed the hopes of a possible rematch against Eala for the gold medal.
The Indonesian rising star beat Eala in their last matchup during the quarterfinals of the SP Open in Brazil As of this writing, Eala is still to face another hometown bet in Naklo Thasaporn in the other semifinal.
The winner will face Sawangkaew in the gold medal match on Thursday, December 18.
Eala is the top seed in the tournament and is the highest-ranking WTA player on the list at world no. 53.
Tjen settles for the bronze medal while the 20-year-old Filipino hopes for a chance at gold with a win in her semifinal.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.