Veteran Romana returns ready to silence the skeptics
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Romana Tedjakusuma knows all too well the sniping surrounding her selection as a reserve for the Fed Cup tie against Germany next month.
If she is eventually called up to play, she will not only have to beat the Germans on home soil, but also silence those who say she is too old and lacking match play to represent Indonesia.
Romana, who turns 29 in July, has resided in California since the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. The trip to Essen in April will be her seventh cap for Indonesia since 1992.
During a team training session in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, Romana said she was eager to play again, but she also seemed distracted by the questioning of her suitability for the team.
Initially wary in answering The Jakarta Post's questions, she said she was doing her best to ignore the doubters.
"I was informed about Indonesia's next match against Germany early this year and I was asked whether I was ready for another round of national service."
She said chairwoman of the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) Martina Wijaya and nonplaying captain Suzanna Anggarkusuma called her to ask about her playing condition and availability for the team.
"I told them the truth concerning my condition. I said I had been able to maintain my tennis fitness. If I hadn't, why would I answer otherwise? I keep training and playing in many tournaments. Although they're not WTA ranking points tournaments, they are competitive events.
"I enjoy the game of tennis. I relish the challenge of competition."
The expected starters for the team are Angelique Widjaja, whose fitness is still in doubt due to a knee injury, Wynne Prakusya and Cup debutante Ayu Fani Damayanti.
Romana made her own debut in 1992, recruited as much needed support for then number one Yayuk Basuki.
With her ranking rising to the low 80s on the WTA Tour, she accrued five Fed Cup wins the following year as Indonesia overcame Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore and Poland, before losing to Spain in the second round of the World Group.
She kept her place on the team until 1996, when she decided to concentrate on her studies at Nicholls State University in Louisiana, graduating in 2000 after a successful collegiate playing career.
In her last match in the Fed Cup in 2001, her only win came by default over Barbara Schett in a 2-3 defeat to Austria.
In the SEA Games, she contributed two gold medals for Indonesia. But a chronic injury of her left wrist forced her to retire from the tour.
She has since resided in Tracy, California, with her parents, working a instructor at a tennis club in nearby Pleasanton, Romana said she continued to train and played the northern California club circuit.
"There are a lot of tournaments. I played around 10 tournaments last year. I can't play more because of my commitment to the club," she said, not mentioning that she won eight events.
For Romana, who will leave for Croatia on Thursday with Wynne, the German trip could be her last stint of "national service".
Whatever the future holds, she plans to fight in Essen.
"Against the Germans, we will have to take our chances. When we are already committed to play, we must fight."