Janice Tjen on the Indian Wells 2026 hard court

Janice Tjen received a difficult draw at the 2026 Indian Wells (Instagram/@wtameridaopen).

JAKARTA - Indonesia's mainstay women's tennis player, Janice Tjen, is sure to face an uphill battle in the 2026 Indian Wells WTA 1000 tennis event after the draw results were released by the organizers.

The tournament with the largest number of spectators outside the four Grand Slam events (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open) will take place on March 4-15, 2026 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, United States (US).

The draw puts Janice in a less than favorable position. The 23-year-old will begin her journey facing Romanian Jaqueline Cristian.

On paper, Janice and Jaqueline are expected to have a tight match because their world rankings are not far apart. Currently Janice is in 39th place, while his opponent is ranked 35th in the WTA.

Janice's position in the WTA rankings dropped by three strips due to unsatisfactory results at the Merida Open which took place in Mexico. He went home in the first round at the WTA 500 event because he lost to Camila Osorio from Colombia.

If he succeeds in passing the first round, Janice will meet Maya Joint from Australia. Maya, who is ranked 29th in this tournament, directly entered the second round because he got a blank draw.

Janice has a good record against Maya in WTA tournaments. Previously, the two of them met in Abu Dhabi earlier this month - which marked Janice's debut at the WTA 500 - and Janice managed to win in a three-set match.

If you manage to get past Maya, then Janice will likely get a big test against the current world number one, Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian also got a blank draw in the first round and is predicted to get through the second round easily.

Indian Wells is the third WTA 1000 tournament that Janice has participated in this year's calendar after the Qatar Open and the Dubai Championship. In the two appearances, he crashed out in the second and third rounds.