Former tennis star Yayuk launches biography
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's former top tennis player Yayuk Basuki has launched her biography Dari Yogya ke Pentas Dunia (From Yogya to the World Stage). The book was written by Daryadi, a sports reporter for the Media GO tabloid.
Sunday's launching, at the Regent Hotel, South Jakarta, was attended by Indonesian Tennis Association secretary-general Soegeng Sarjadi, National Sports Council chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar, businessman Aburizal Bakrie and Yayuk's former coach Mien Gondowidjojo.
In her speech, Yayuk expressed her pride of being the first Indonesian tennis player who was able to popularize the country with international tennis fans after she turned pro in 1990.
"I am very proud of becoming Indonesia's player who could finally represent this country. We were almost never mentioned before," she said.
In her book, Yayuk, born in Yogyakarta on Nov. 30, 1970, as Nani Rahayu, shares the ups and downs of her tennis career.
"When I played at Wimbledon in 1991, I was nobody. I was treated differently from the players of other countries, starting from the accommodation to the practicing courts. I never watched my performance in evening programs of BBC TV station although I was able to reach the fourth round," she said.
"I felt I was being disregarded, probably because I came from a country which had never produced an international tennis player," she said.
Yayuk also reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995. Her progress was almost seen as a routine procedure, so much so that local media dubbed her "Wimbledon's fourth-round specialist".
But the treatment changed when she progressed to the quarterfinals in 1997.
"I took the discrimination as a motivation to improve my performance. When I finally reached the quarterfinals, I saw part of my match on TV and heard my name mentioned as one of the quarterfinalists. The quarterfinals were elite because only the eight best players could reach them," she said.
Yayuk managed to stay in the 19th position of the Women Tennis Association in 1997 for two weeks.
She failed to climb higher to the world top 10 because she declined to compete in qualifications for the Porsche tournament in Frankfurt, Germany. Only 18 world bests are allowed to compete and Yayuk blamed the organizers for discriminating against her.
Yayuk also reached the fourth round of the 1998 Australian Open in Melbourne. Partnering with Dutch Caroline Vis, the pair managed to reach the quarterfinals of the 1998 Chase Championship in New York.
Yayuk, who married her coach Suharyadi in 1994, decided to retire early this year because she is pregnant.
"It's really sad and hard to leave tennis. But I want my juniors to follow my steps to reach international achievements," she said. (ivy)