The last two years have seen Gregoria Mariska Tunjung come into her own, delivering on her abundant abilities with consistent performances that took her into the top five of the BWF World Rankings. Just when it was all going smoothly, an unexpected health crisis cropped up earlier this year and caused a bump in the road.
Ranked No.15 in December 2022, Tunjung’s evolution into a tougher competitor – which she credited to getting fitter physically – saw her frequently make quarterfinals and semifinals of the higher-tier tournaments, including Paris 2024 where she won bronze.

She followed up with semifinals in Finland and Denmark, and final at the Kumamoto Masters; this year saw her make the semifinals in India and quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters and the All England.
It was after the YONEX All England in March that Tunjung first experienced headaches due to vertigo. The condition got worse at the Badminton Asia Championships in April, following which she decided on a prolonged break, only returning at the DAIHATSU Japan Open earlier this month.
“I got vertigo and it was quite bad,” Tunjung recalled at last week’s VICTOR China Open. “The first time I got the headache was after the All England. After the All England I frequently had headaches. It got worse after the Badminton Asia Championships. I decided not to go to the Sudirman Cup.”
With the headaches and nausea, training was out of the question.

“That was terrible because the vertigo came like every week, two or three times. And then I also vomited and yeah, that was bad. The doctor told me I had to rest and not do any hard exercise.
“I was off practising for about two months. I was only focused on how my body could get better. And at the time, I didn’t think much about when I would come back to practice, I only focused on my health, my body, but thankfully after, I think, about two months, my body could slowly get back to practice. And that’s a good thing. And now I can play here (China Open).”
Tunjung said she didn’t experience the condition when she returned to training, which she credits to acupuncture. Although she did experience dizziness during her quarterfinal loss to Han Yue at the VICTOR China Open, Tunjung is hopeful that the worst is behind her.
“Thankfully after I was back to practice, the vertigo was gone. And I did some acupuncture for vertigo. I think that helps a lot and yeah, my condition now is just focusing on how I can come back to the level.
“I’m feeling better and so I’m happy to finally get back to tournaments after two or three months off.”

As one of the medal contenders at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2025, Tunjung hoped she would be in her best condition at Paris.
“I feel my body is getting better, and no more headache and vertigo, so that’s positive. I have been doing some acupuncture twice every week.
“Of course I hope I’m healthy during preparation for the World Championships and I hope I can play well.”