Janice Tjen Challenges Sloane Stephens After Eliminating Vidmanova at the Guadalajara Open

Janice Tjen has progressed to the round of 16 at the Guadalajara Open presented by Santander off the back of a convincing victory. A far sterner challenge now lies ahead however, as the Indonesian tennis player is set to face American Sloane Stephens this Wednesday.

Janice booked her place in the last 16 after overcoming Czech player Dominika Vidmanova in their round of 32 encounter. Competing as the fifth seed at this WTA 500 tournament, Janice sealed a 7-6(6), 6-2 hard court victory over one hour and 34 minutes of play.

This win over Vidmanova also serves as a positive response from Janice, following a singles campaign at the 2026 US Open that ended far sooner than anticipated.

At the New York Grand Slam, she was drawn against fifth seed Mirra Andreeva in the very first round, where she suffered a straight 2-6, 2-6 defeat.

Following that exit, Janice looked to build momentum by entering the doubles draw alongside Canadian player Leylah Fernandez. The pair opened their run with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over Dutch player Ineke Haverlag and Slovenia's Nina Radisic.

Their tournament would only last until the second round however, as Janice and Fernandez fell 4-6, 4-6 to the tournament's ninth seeded pairing of Aldila Sutjiadi and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe.

Guadalajara has proven a very different stage for Janice. Up against Vidmanova, she was made to work hard from the very first game as the opening set unfolded in an extremely tight fashion.

Both players were pushed to a tiebreak after the score reached 6-6. Under this high pressure situation, Janice held her nerve to claim the opening set 8-6 in the decider.

This advantage proved the turning point of the entire match. Janice took full control of proceedings in the second set, leaving Vidmanova with almost no space to establish her own game plan.

With the score locked at 2-2, Janice successfully broke her opponent's serve. That break became the critical momentum she required, as she protected her lead to close out the second set 6-2.

Match statistics underline the aggressive approach Janice brought to the court. She hit 10 aces, and won 66 out of the total 125 points contested across the match.

Janice also converted her chances effectively when presented with break opportunities, sealing 2 out of 3 available break points to secure her spot in the next round.

Now Sloane Stephens awaits. The American player advanced to the second round after eliminating France's Carole Monet in their round of 32 fixture.

This upcoming clash with Stephens will be Janice's next test, coming immediately after her gruelling battle against Vidmanova. If she can once again remain calm during critical points while maintaining the effectiveness of her serve, Janice holds a genuine chance to continue her resurgence in Guadalajara.

For Janice, this run at Guadalajara is about far more than simply extending her stay at this WTA 500 tournament. After a brutal opening draw at the US Open followed by her doubles campaign, this victory over Vidmanova presents her with the chance to rebuild confidence in singles competition.