HANGZHOU, SATURDAY — The Indonesian tennis team is realistic about the challenges it will face at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. With Grand Slam-class players competing, Indonesia is only aiming for mixed doubles medals .

The aim is to maintain what was achieved at the 2018 Asian Games in mixed doubles. In other words, one should be realistic in thinking that the ranking of tennis players from China, Taiwan, Japan and India is better.

“The aim is to maintain what was achieved at the 2018 Asian Games in mixed doubles. “In other words, we have to be realistic and think that the ranking of tennis players from China, Taiwan, Japan and India is better,” Indonesian tennis team manager Suharyadi told Hangzhou, China, Saturday (9/23/2023).

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To compete for five gold medals in the competition which will be held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Park Tennis Center from September 24 to 30, Indonesia will be represented by ten tennis players. Among them are Christopher Rungkat and Aldila Sutjiadi, who won the mixed doubles gold medal at the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games.

In tennis competitions, mixed doubles is only played on the Grand Slam stage and in multi-branch events, such as the SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games. So the competition in this number is more open.

This is different from the other four numbers always contested in professional ITF, ATP/WTA and Grand Slam tournaments. Thus, the men’s singles and men’s doubles competition map is easier to read and more difficult for countries that do not have outstanding professional tennis players.

Chinese tennis players, for example, are the best in the Asian region in women’s singles, men’s singles and women’s doubles. Taiwan is a mainstay in women’s doubles, while India is a mainstay in men’s doubles. These three countries have tennis players capable of breaking into competition in the Grand Slam arena.

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Meanwhile, Indonesia only has Aldila, who is currently actively competing at the WTA Tour and Grand Slam levels. Adila even had to travel more than 24 hours to show up in Hangzhou after playing at the WTA 1000 Guadalajara, Mexico. Aldila played women’s doubles with Miyu Kato (Japan) in Guadalajara and was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Along with Kato, Aldila reached the third round of women’s doubles at four Grand Slam tournaments this year. He reached the next stage, namely the semi-finals, in mixed doubles at Roland Garros and at Wimbledon in partnership with Matwe Middelkoop (Netherlands).

So, the realistic goal for the Indonesian Asian Games tennis team to win a medal is only in mixed doubles involving experienced tennis players Aldila and Christopher.

In men’s and women’s singles, China will be difficult to match. Zhang Zhizhen, ranked 60th in men’s singles in the world, is the top seed. He reached the third round of the 2023 French and United States Opens. At the US Open, the 26-year-old tennis player created a surprise by eliminating the fifth seed, Casper Ruud, in the second round.

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In addition to Zhang, the Chinese men’s singles includes Wu Yibing, ranked 90th. Wu won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games at the age of 18. “Now my goal is to win gold in men’s singles and doubles,” Wu was quoted as saying by China.

Zhang, who had Goodbye in the first round, has the opportunity to become Indonesia’s best opponent in men’s singles, Muhammad Rifqi Fitriadi, in the third round. Rifqi, who also had it Goodbye in the first round, must first beat Hong Kong tennis player Wong Hong Kit in the second round on Sunday.

Rifqi’s ranking is well below Zhang at 555th. However, he at least brings good enough supplies to compete in Hangzhou compared to when he competed in the 2018 Asian Games.

Rifqi has been participating more actively in ITF professional tournaments since mid-2022. Through competitions, he has gained experience that he cannot gain in training, namely learning to handle pressure. For the first time, the 24-year-old tennis player won the title, including the ITF U15 Jakarta, in July. He also won the men’s singles gold medal at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games.

The women’s singles competition, which will feature Beatrice Gumulya and Janice Tjen, even involves the host tennis player ranked 22nd in the world, Zheng Qinwen. The 20-year-old Chinese rising star caused a surprise by reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open in August. One of the players he beat was Ons Jabeur, a finalist at Wimbledon 2022 and 2023, as well as the 2022 US Open.

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This figure was also followed by another Chinese tennis player ranked 31st in the world, Zhu Lin, and an 18-year-old Filipino tennis player ranked 191st in the world, Alexandra Eala. Eala was Priska Madelyn Nugroho’s partner when she won the junior women’s doubles at the 2020 Australian Open. In singles, the tennis player who trains at Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Spain won the junior category of the US Open in 2022.

In women’s doubles, Beatrice/Jessy Rompies and Aldila/Janice must compete against Chinese and Taiwanese players ranked in the world top 30. When it comes to men’s doubles, the biggest challenges for Christopher/Nathan Anthony Barki and David Agung Susanto/Anthony Susanto are Indian and South Korean tennis players.