Young Indonesian Tennis Pair Reaches ITF M15 Bali Semifinals

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia secured a promising result at the ITF World Tennis Tour M15 Amman Mineral Men's World Tennis Championship 2026 Series IV in Bali, with Rafalentino Ali Da Costa/Ethan David Zapp reaching their first semifinal together after a major upset in the men’s singles.

The young Indonesian pair defeated New Zealand’s top-seeded Isaac Becroft/Reece Falck 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes at Bali Beach Country Club on Thursday, September 2, 2026.

The victory marked the best achievement for Rafalentino and Ethan since they began playing together and also gave Rafalentino a strong response after his singles campaign ended earlier in the day.

Rafalentino, who also competed in the men’s singles, lost to fourth-seeded Indian player Karan Singh 3-6, 2-6 in one hour and 16 minutes.

"We are very happy and did not expect to beat the top seeds in the fourth series. Next, we will do our best and avoid putting too much pressure on ourselves so we can play like we did today," Rafalentino said in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday, September 3, as quoted by Antara.

Meanwhile, Nathan Barki continued Indonesia’s challenge in the men’s singles by reaching the quarterfinals after his second-round opponent, Anthony Susanto, retired due to injury.

The all-Indonesian match was closely contested from the start, with Nathan and Anthony exchanging points until they were level at 5-5 in the opening set. Nathan broke Anthony’s serve in the 11th game after three deuces and then closed out the set 7-5 in 48 minutes.

Anthony, who received medical treatment for an issue with his right arm, decided not to continue before the second set began, giving Nathan a place in the quarterfinals.

"I am concerned about Anthony Susanto, who had to retire due to injury, and I hope my teammate can recover soon. Although I am not fully satisfied with today's victory, I hope to maintain my performance and stay focused on the upcoming matches," Nathan said.

Rafalentino/Ethan will face fourth-seeded Sebastian Grundtvic Jorgensen/Ryotaro Taguchi in the semifinal scheduled for Friday, September 4. Sebastian/Ryotaro advanced after defeating Swedish pair Leo Borg/Eric Ahren 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 through a super tiebreak.

With these results, Indonesia still has two representatives in contention at the tournament: Nathan Barki in men’s singles and Rafalentino Ali Da Costa/Ethan David Zapp in men’s doubles. ***