IO – Indonesian women’s tennis player Aldila Sutjiadi was immediately eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open 2022 women’s doubles.
Aldila, who played with Thai pair Peangtarn Plipuech, had to go home early after playing the match for 58 minutes at Melbourne Park, Australia.
The 26-year-old Indonesian tennis player was beaten by the fifth-seeded pair Alexa Guarachi from Chile and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, with the final score 6-4, 6-2.
“Thank you for the support. The first set we actually had a chance to win but couldn’t take it,” said Dila, Aldila’s nickname, in an official statement received by Independent Observer.
The holder of the 2018 Asian Games gold medal qualified for Australia with wildcard facilities.
She is one of 64 players to make their Australian Open debut this year. Playing in the Australian Open is Aldila’s highest achievement in her career. She made her debut as a junior player in 2008, aged 13. Highlights of her junior career include winning the singles and doubles competitions at the 2010 Indonesia International Junior Championships, and reaching the doubles semifinals of the Australian Open Junior Championships in 2012.
Sutjiadi debuted as a professional in 2010, aged 15, at an ITF Circuit tournament in Jakarta. She won the doubles competition at Solo in 2014, partnered by Nadia Ravita. She was part of the Indonesia Fed Cup team in 2013.
A highlight of her career was her medal-winning performance at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore, in which she won bronze in the team event and also in the women’s doubles, partnered by Jessy Rompies.
In 2017, Sutjiadi graduated from the University of Kentucky, where she had spent four years playing for the Wildcats.
Aldila started her year in a 15 thousand dollar-tournament in Hong Kong, where she after qualifying reached the second round, losing out to eventual Australian Open third rounder Luksika Kumkhum; she then traveled to Orlando where she lost to Sophie Chang, then lost to Dia Evtimova in Tampa, while partnering Alycia Parks to the semifnals of doubles.
She then managed to get to the quarterfinals in Nanning, losing to Han Xinyun, and in Hua Hin, she lost to Ma Shuyue in the quarterfinals but reached the finals in doubles with Yuqi Sheng. Then in Hua Hin, she lost to Bunyawi Thamchaiwat yet in another quarterfinal but also reached the finals in doubles, partnering the same individual, Sheng. In Solo, she won the title, beating players such as good prospects Priska Madelyn Nugroho, Mahak Jain and Du Zhima.
At the 2018 Asian Games in her home country, She was partnered up with Christopher Rungkat for the mixed-doubles category in just two weeks’ time, and was not targeted to grab any medals. However, they surprised everyone, getting a gold medal after producing a couple of upsets and eventually beating Thai pair Sonchat Ratiwatana and Luksika Kumkhum in the end, to get the gold medal. (rp)