Yayuk at crossroads once again

By Primastuti Handayani

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's best ever tennis player Yayuk Basuki captured the headlines by winning the Asian Games women's singles gold medal in the twilight of her career.

Yayuk was extremely happy, as she approaches the ending.

Shortly after beating Thailand's sweetheart Tamarine Tanasugarn in a relatively one-sided final, Yayuk reiterated her intention to leave competitive tennis for good.

"I just want to settle down and enjoy the rest of my life with my family. If God endows me babies, I'll be very happy because we have long wished for them," said 28-year-old Yayuk, who married her coach Suharyadi in January 1994. She had just collected her first title since winning the China Open in 1994.

If the plan goes as expected, Yayuk will bid her farewell at the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 18 next year.

Arriving home to a state welcome given by President B.J. Habibie, Yayuk soon encountered the mounting hopes of a nation that was still in need of her services.

New secretary-general of the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti), Sugeng Sarjadi, suggested that Yayuk delay her retirement for a year to give her prospective successors more time to learn from her.

"I want to encourage her not to stop playing after the Australian Open. Observing her convincing form in the Asiad, I think it's too early for her to retire.

"She's only 28, compared to Steffi Graf of Germany who is 29 and Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic who is 30. Neither have plans to quit tennis in the near future," Sugeng, who is also a businessman, said.

Yayuk had twice dropped her retirement plan since 1996, saying she could not evade the national duties laid on her shoulders.

"I could do nothing but return to the tennis court that time because I thought there was nobody to fill my shoes.

"Now that we have a batch of young talents, there is no reason not to give the young players a crack in international tournaments.

It must be difficult in the first year, particularly because of their lack of experience. But if we don't start now, maybe it will be too late to create world class players. Things will be worse if we rely on a single player."

Recognition

During her eight-year career as a professional, Yayuk has collected only a few titles; six in singles and seven in doubles.

However, she deserved world-wide recognition for her giantkilling efforts, which claimed big casualties including Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, currently world numbers one and two, former U.S. Open champion Gabriela Sabatini and former French Open winner Iva Majoli.

"I'm used to traveling for about 10 months a year. You can imagine how exhausted I have been in the last eight years. That's why I want to stay at home and relax," Yayuk said.

Yayuk, who has collected more than US$1 million in earnings from the tennis circuit, said she would not be tempted by the association's promise to provide financial help for players who compete in tournaments abroad.

"I have earned money from tours and if I always thought of collecting money, I would not be able to express thanks for what I've earned," she said, adding that she had always donated 2.5% of her income to the needy.

Pelti, under the new leadership duet of Tanri Abeng and Sugeng, plans to sponsor national players to foreign outings. Tanri is State Minister of Empowerment of State Enterprises and formerly a renowned business heavyweight.

Instead of hoping for an extended term of duty from her, Yayuk suggested Pelti focus on grooming young talents for the 2000 Olympics and 2002 Asian Games.

"We can expect to bring home golds in those events as long as we seriously train our juniors," she said.

Yayuk said she still had no idea about trying her hand at coaching.

"I don't know if I want to have a tennis school or be a coach. I don't know. All I want to do now is settle down," she said.

"Maybe if former president Soeharto gives his land in Tapos, West Java, to me, I'd build a huge, international-standard sports complex to match that at the Thammasat University sports complex in Bangkok (the Asiad venues)," she quipped.