As an 18-year-old, she is a fan of rock music and Chinese food. But she also wields the tennis racquet with élan and eyes a top 30 spot in the world by the end of next season.

You may say she is on her way. Yung-Jan Chan, the eighth seed here from Chinese Taipei, is ranked 81 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour list and is eager to pick up valuable points here. And till today, she is on course, though the Sunfeast Open has seen some seeds being thrown off early.

Chan expressed happiness that the WTA has a number of tour events in Asia that allows Asian players to pick up points without having to travel to Europe or America too often. “It is good for us. It is less expensive,” she said. This is a problem faced by Asian men, too, as the ATP has fewer meets in this continent.

Chan, whose 14-year-old sister Hao-Ching Chan, is a tennis player too, has her family’s support and is coached by her father Chan Yuan Liang. She is happy with the way the tennis association back home has supported her. “They do have junior tournaments and programmes that help players. There are some sponsors too. And they also run an academy for juniors,” she said. However, once on the tour, she will have to depend more on her own performance and sponsor support. “I do have some sponsors and that helps,” she said.

Chan is not new to India and she won the doubles in the Bangalore meet this year, with compatriot Chia-Jung Chuang, her regular doubles partner. However, she is only concentrating on singles in Kolkata.

... contd.