Tennis News

The WTA Future Stars Clinic made its third stop of the 2016 season on Saturday in Jakarta following successful weekends in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Assisting the platform – which aims to promote the game all over the Asia-Pacific region – in its latest clinic was a woman who has been, in her own words, “opening the door for professional tennis in Indonesia” for the better part of three decades.

“I’ve always followed all the WTA’s plans for growing the game in Indonesia, and hopefully this works,” former World No.19 Yayuk Basuki told WTA Insider.

Working with national representatives and players from her eponymous academy, Basuki spent the day working with the Future Stars on the court, and shared some of her memories of being a professional athlete.

“It’s always great to be able to give back to the next generation,” she said at the clinic led by Melissa Pine, Vice President of WTA Asia-Pacific and Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. “I hope to be able to inspire the children, and show them that anything is possible so long as you put your heart and mind to it.”

Basuki is Jakarta’s hometown hero with an impressive on-court resumé, one that features a run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1997 in singles and a box set of Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances in doubles – including a semifinal finish at the 1993 US Open. In the 20 years since reaching those heights, she remains the only Indonesian player to crack the Top 50.

“Maybe these clinics can encourage players – especially the young ones – so they can get motivated to be able to be up there in the WTA rankings,” she explained on Friday. “Because we really need some new stars from our country.

“At the moment really we don’t have any, only one is ranked inside the Top 600. It’s really that we need some juniors to come up. I’m following some of them; one or two of them are doing quite well on the ITF Junior Circuit. So hopefully we have a better future for the girls in the next coming years.”

A trailblazer for Indonesian tennis, Basuki took charge of a fledgling national career and quickly burst onto the international scene.

“In my time, no one ever thought an Indonesian player could do well as a professional. I had been playing for my country, for the flag, for so many years – for Fed Cup, the Asian Games or the Olympics.

“I was thinking: I don’t want to just play for my country; I want to turn pro. Within six months of doing that, I was Top 50. I stayed up there until I reached my highest ranking of Top 20.”

Retiring from singles at the start of the new millennium – after having won six WTA titles, – Basuki was eager to offer advice to the next generation of Indonesian stars. She became a WTA mentor to Angelique Widjaja, who defeated future No.1 Dinara Safina to win the first of two junior Grand Slam titles in 2001.

“I was looking forward that more players would follow me and what I did.”

Widjaja appeared on course to match – even surpass – what Basuki had achieved in her first two years on the WTA tour, rocketing up to No.55 in singles and No.15 in doubles, where she reached four Grand Slam quarterfinals. But injuries and burnout took their toll and Widjaja was gone from the game by 2008.

“I’ve tried to encourage her to come back and to play some – even if it was just for doubles – but she says she doesn’t have the motivation anymore and that’s such a pity.”

Undaunted by the setback, Basuki sought to grow the game herself by returning to tennis at nearly 40 years old, playing doubles on the ITF Circuit.

“I know that there was no way for to completely come back at my age, but it was more about trying to motivate the younger players. I was trying to say, ‘Come on, I’m 40 and I still can do it; why can’t they?’ I wanted to encourage them.”

The comeback might not have yielded the result she wanted, but it made her realize she needed to do something even bigger to change the way her country viewed professional sport.

“It’s so hard to get children involved in sports, or even to be an athlete, because most of the parents are thinking, ‘If I put my kid into athletics, what are they doing after?’ You know, what is life after sports? They’re all worried about that.”

Returning to Indonesia after coaching in Hong Kong, Basuki was encouraged to run for political office in 2013; within a year, she was a member of parliament working to reform sports and education.

“They don’t give enough attention for the sport,” she said of the government. “What they need is to put in more effort, to give more of the budget for the Indonesian sport. I’d already tried to work for the National Olympic Association, where I was Vice President. I tried to help as an advisor in the Indonesian ministry, as well. But nothing has worked, so the only thing right now is to get into the system, which was to become a house representative.

“During the campaign, it was clear not many people knew I used to be the ex-tennis player who turned into a politician. But I got enough votes!”

Between her political endeavors and the growing initiatives spearheaded by WTA Future Stars, Basuki is optimistic about the state of the sport – not only in her country, but also throughout the region.

“So far my country is giving more attention to education. But at least in sport, as well, we’re trying to make up for that in the budget. So in the beginning, for example, the budget was let’s say only 30%, but now it’s becoming three times larger than where it started when I first became a politician.

“I’m trying to create a system, one where athletes won’t have to worry about their future by creating pension plans and ways for them to develop skills for after their careers. I can share a lot of my experience, so hopefully we’ll be able to make progress.

“I’ve dedicated 26 years to Indonesian tennis, as a player, as a Fed Cup captain, and as coach as well. So what I’m looking forward to are some new players who really have their goals and their dreams. To tell you the truth, I haven’t found it yet. Hopefully at the clinic, I can see some of the younger ones who might have a brighter future.

“I’m hoping.”

All photos courtesy of the WTA.