Melanie Oudin

Melanie Oudin

Melanie Oudin in 2014
Country  United States
Residence Marietta, Georgia, United States
Born September 23, 1991
Marietta, Georgia, United States
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Turned pro 2008
Plays right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money US $1,454,742
Singles
Career record 216–171
Career titles 1 WTA, 6 ITF titles
Highest ranking 31 (19 April 2010)
Current ranking 161 (9 February 2015)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 1R (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013)
French Open 2R (2012, 2013)
Wimbledon 4R (2009)
US Open QF (2009)
Doubles
Career record 62–74
Career titles 0 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest ranking 125 (23 May 2011)
Current ranking 218 (9 February 2015)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 1R (2010)
French Open 2R (2010)
Wimbledon 1R (2010)
US Open 2R (2010)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
US Open W (2011)
Last updated on: 9 February 2015.

Melanie Oudin (born September 23, 1991) is an American tennis player and former world junior no. 2. She was a member of the American Fed Cup team from 2009 to 2011 and winner of the 2011 U.S. Open mixed doubles title, with fellow American player Jack Sock.

Oudin was propelled to stardom as a 17-year-old, in the middle of 2009, when she reached the round of 16 of the Wimbledon Championships, followed by a quarter-final at the US Open a month and a half later. She reached a career high ranking of World No. 31 on April 19, 2010.

Personal life

Oudin, a Marietta, Georgia native, has a twin sister, Katherine, and a younger sister, Christina.[1] Introduced to the sport at the age of seven alongside sister Katherine, it was clear Melanie had a gift. As Melanie continued to improve, her time spent on the court increased as well. In seventh grade, Melanie made the decision to homeschool, giving her more time on the practice courts and an opportunity to play more tournaments. In an article with Atlanta Magazine Oudin said, "If I was going to homeschool, I was going to try to go pro for sure”.[2] While the decision proved to be very beneficial for her career, Oudin admits envying her twin sister's experiences at a regular school.[3] She says her idol is Justine Henin because "she proved you don't have to be tall to win things."[4] Her grandmother inspired her and her sister to play tennis when she gave them racquets and lessons when they were young.[5]

Playing style

Oudin is a defensive counterpuncher. Her footwork and her speed help her get balls from anywhere in the court. Her best shot is her forehand which she hits flat. One of her weaknesses is her serve. She uses a slice backhand to mix up shots.

Tennis career

Melanie Oudin at US Open

2008–2009: Breakthrough in WTA, US Open quarterfinal, and Top 50 ranking

Oudin turned professional in February 2008.[6] In April 2008, she received a wildcard at the WTA tournament in Miami where she lost in the first round to Tathiana Garbin in three sets.[7] In August, Oudin received a wildcard into her first Grand Slam main draw at the US Open. She was defeated by Australian Jessica Moore 6–7, 6–7.

In October that year, Oudin participated in the 2008 Bell Challenge in Quebec City. In the first round, she defeated third seed Sybille Bammer, 6–4, 3–6, 7–5. In the second round, she defeated Russian Olga Puchkova, 6–1, 7–6. Reaching her first WTA quarterfinals, she was defeated by sixth seed Bethanie Mattek, 6–7, 1–6.

Oudin began 2009 by qualifying for the main draw of the Australian Open. She was then defeated in the first round by Akgul Amanmuradova, 1–6, 4–6.

At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, Oudin entered as a qualifier. Oudin defeated no. 29 Sybille Bammer in three sets in the first round and Yaroslava Shvedova in three sets in the second. In the third round, Oudin defeated world no. 6 Jelena Janković, 6–7, 7–5, 6–2. She lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the fourth round, 4–6, 5–7.

At the 2009 US Open, Oudin entered as a wildcard. In her first-round match, she easily defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6–1, 6–2. In the second round, she stunned fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3, in her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut. Then in the third round, she defeated a resurgent Maria Sharapova, 3–6, 6–4, 7–5. At 17 years of age, Oudin reached the fourth round of a major event for the second consecutive time. In the fourth round, she played another Russian, 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova. She defeated Petrova, 1–6, 7–6, 6–3, to reach the quarterfinals of the event. She became the youngest woman since Serena Williams in 1999 to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open, and the youngest since Maria Sharapova to reach the quarter-finals at a Major. Her Cinderella story ended when ninth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki defeated her, 2–6, 2–6. A standing ovation occurred when Oudin was leaving the court. After the US Open, Oudin's ranking rose into the top 50. This was Oudin's first top-50 appearance on the tour.

2010: Steady form

At the 2010 Australian Open, Oudin was defeated, 6–2, 5–7, 5–7, by Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round.

After rallying from a set and 1–3 down, Oudin defeated Ágnes Szávay to reach her first semifinal of a WTA tour event at the 2010 Open GDF Suez in Paris. She then fell in three sets to world no. 7 Elena Dementieva, in a rematch of the US Open second round. At the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Oudin was the second seed. She lost in the quarterfinals to Sofia Arvidsson. At the 2010 French Open, Oudin made an early exit by losing 2–6, 5–7 to Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round. At Wimbledon, Oudin reached the second round, before losing to Jarmila Groth. Oudin reached the second round at the US Open, before losing to Alona Bondarenko, 2–6, 5–7.

2011: Singles downfall, first Grand Slam title

In January, she obtained an invitation to play the Hong Kong Tennis Classic with compatriots Venus Williams and John McEnroe. In the first round of the Australian Open, she lost to Czech Klára Zakopalová in three sets.

Oudin got her first win of the year at the 2011 Open GDF Suez, where she beat Vera Dushevina, 7–5, 5–7, 6–2. In the second round, Oudin lost to Dominika Cibulková of Slovakia, 4–6, 6–7. Having semifinal points to defend, Oudin's ranking dropped from no. 61 to no. 72. Oudin's next tournament was the Cellular South Cup in Memphis. She won her first-round match against Anastasia Pivovarova of Russia, 6–4, 6–0. In the second round, she faced Russian Evgeniya Rodina, only to lose 6–1, 7–5. Oudin was unable to defend her quarterfinal points and therefore saw her ranking fall from no. 72 to no. 81.

In the US Open paired with Jack Sock, Melanie captured the mixed doubles title, defeating the eighth-seeded Argentine pairing of Gisela Dulko and Eduardo Schwank, 7–6 (4), 4–6, 10–8.

2012: Inconsistency, first WTA singles title

At the beginning of the season, Oudin lost in the first round of the Australian Open qualifying to Laura Robson.[8] In April, she won the ITF 50k Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic.[9] Oudin qualified for the Family Circle Cup losing in the first round to Anabel Medina Garrigues. She was awarded the USTA French Open Wild Card an account of her performance in the USTA Pro Circuit.[10] At the French Open, Oudin drew Johanna Larsson of Sweden in the first round. She won 6–3, 6–3. It was her first win ever at the French Open.[11] In the second round, she lost to eventual finalist Sara Errani of Italy 2–6, 3–6.[12]

In June, Oudin won her first WTA title at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham. She qualified and then defeated tenth seed Sorana Cîrstea in the first round. She then beat both Michelle Larcher De Brito and Elena Vesnina to reach the quarter-finals. The tournament was filled with rain delays and Oudin had to cope with the difficulty of coming off and on the court while she beat Irina Falconi and Ekaterina Makarova to reach her first ever final on the WTA tour. She then defeated Jelena Janković 6–4, 6–2 in the final. Winning the tournament bumped up her ranking from 208 to 122. Her performance earned her a wildcard at Wimbledon.[13]

At Wimbledon, she was given one of seven wildcard entries into the main draw. In the first round she lost to unseeded Tímea Babos of Hungary in three sets 4–6, 6–4, 3–6.[14]

At the US Open on August 27, number 107 ranked Oudin was unseeded and lost to fifteenth seed Lucie Šafářová of the Czech Republic in straight sets 4–6, 0–6.[15] In the Women's Doubles, she also lost in the first round teaming up with Grace Min.

With the 2012 season coming to a close, Oudin played several tournaments on the ITF tour. At the National Bank Challenger Saguenay 50k in Canada, she advanced to the semi-finals before losing to Eugenie Bouchard 2–6, 2–6. At the John Newcombe Women's Pro Challenge in New Braunfels, Texas, she defeated wildcard Victoria Duval in the first round. With wins over Ulrikke Eikeri and Madison Keys, she made it to the final where she defeated Mariana Duque 6–1, 6–1. In this tournament, Oudin didn't drop a set.[16]

2013 and 2014: Out of Top 150

Oudin played in the Australian Open, where she lost in the first round of the qualifying event to Laura Robson in straight sets. At the French Open, she won her first-round match over Tamira Paszek, before losing in the second round to Zheng Jie in straight sets. At Wimbledon, she lost in the first round to Michelle Larcher de Brito. Oudin did not play in the main draw of the US Open, losing in the first round of qualifying to Elena Baltacha.

In 2014, Oudin failed to qualify for any grand slam tournament. In singles, her best result was reaching the final of an ITF event, in doubles she won one tournament in a team with Jan Abaza.

Fed Cup

Oudin played singles in the United States' Fed Cup tie against Argentina in February 2009, losing her first match against Gisela Dulko, but winning the second match against Betina Jozami in three sets.[17]

In November 2009, Oudin lost both of her matches (against Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone) in the championship round of the 2009 Fed Cup.[18]

In the 2010 Fed Cup, Oudin led the USA to a 4–1 victory over France by defeating Pauline Parmentier and Julie Coin. Against Russia, Oudin then defeated Alla Kudryavtseva in her first singles match, while losing to Elena Dementieva in her second match. Her team still advanced to the final in San Diego. Contrary to expectations, lower ranked Coco Vandeweghe was chosen over Oudin for the first singles match against Francesca Schiavone. After the US team lost both matches on the first day, Oudin replaced Bethanie Mattek-Sands for the third singles match against Schiavone and won 6–3, 6–1. This kept her team in contention, but proved futile since Vandeweghe lost the next match against Flavia Pennetta. In the 2011 Fed Cup World Group tie against Belgium, Oudin lost both her singles matches against Kim Clijsters and Yanina Wickmayer. In April, she also lost her two matches in the 2011 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs where the US dropped out of the World Group for the first time since its formation in 1995.

Equipment

Racquet: Wilson Steam BLX 100 Strings: Luxilon Big Banger TiMo Grips: Wilson Pro Overgrip Apparel: Wilson

Significant finals

Grand Slam finals

Mixed Doubles: 1 (1–0)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 2011 US Open Hard United States Jack Sock Argentina Gisela Dulko
Argentina Eduardo Schwank		 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 10–8

WTA career finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)

Winner — Legend (pre/post 2010)
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0)
Tier II / Premier (0–0)
Tier III, IV & V / International (1–0)
Titles by Surface
Hard (0–0)
Grass (1–0)
Clay (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. June 18, 2012 Aegon Classic, Birmingham, United Kingdom Grass Serbia Jelena Janković 6–4, 6–2

ITF Career statistics

Singles Finals: 9 (6–3)

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner–up 1. February 25, 2008 Fort Walton Beach, United States Clay Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 3–6, 7–5, 6–7(5)
Winner 2. July 21, 2008 Lexington, United States Hard United States Carly Gullickson 6–4, 6–2
Winner 3. May 10, 2009 Indian Harbour Beach, United States Clay Germany Laura Siegemund 7–5, 5–7, 6–2
Winner 4. May 17, 2009 Raleigh, United States Clay United States Lindsay Lee-Waters 6–1, 2–6, 6–4
Runner–up 5. November 14, 2010 Phoenix, United States Hard Varvara Lepchenko 3–6, 6–7(5)
Winner 6. April 29, 2012 Charlottesville, United States Clay United States Irina Falconi 7–6(0), 3–6, 6–1
Winner 7. November 4, 2012 New Braunfels, United States Hard Colombia Mariana Duque 6–1, 6–1
Winner 8. September 29, 2013 Las Vegas, United States Hard United States Coco Vandeweghe 5–7, 6–3, 6–3
Runner–up 9. July 14, 2014 Carson, United States Hard United States Nicole Gibbs 4–6, 4–6

Doubles Finals: 6 (1–5)

Outcome NO Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
Runner-up 1. July 21, 2008 Lexington, United States Hard United States Lindsay Lee-Waters Chinese Taipei Chan Chin-wei
United States Kimberly Couts		 6–2, 2–6, [8–10]
Runner-up 2. September 25, 2011 Albuquerque, United States Hard United States Grace Min United States Alexa Glatch
United States Asia Muhammed		 6–4, 3–6, [2–10]
Runner-up 3. October 2, 2011 Las Vegas, United States Hard Varvara Lepchenko Alexa Glatch
United States Mashona Washington		 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 4. September 22, 2013 Albuquerque, United States Hard United States Taylor Townsend Greece Eleni Daniilidou
United States Coco Vandeweghe		 4–6, 6–7(2)
Runner-up 5. November 1, 2013 Toronto, Canada Hard (i) United States Jessica Pegula United States Victoria Duval
Canada Françoise Abanda		 6–7(5), 6–2, [9–11]
Winner 6. September 15, 2014 Albuquerque, United States Hard United States Jan Abaza United States Nicole Melichar
United States Allie Will		 6–2, 6–3

Performance timelines

Grand Slam women's singles performance timeline

Tournament 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 W–L
Australian Open 1R 1R 1R Q1 1R 0–4
French Open 1R 1R 2R 2R Q2 2–4
Wimbledon 4R 2R 1R 1R 1R Q3 4–5
US Open 1R QF 2R 1R 1R Q3 5–5
Win–Loss 0–1 7–3 2–4 0–4 1–3 1–3 0-0 0-0 11–18

Grand Slam women's doubles performance timeline

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 W–L
Australian Open 1R 1R 0–2
French Open 2R 1R 1R 1–3
Wimbledon 1R 1R 1R 0–3
US Open 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R 2R 1R 2–8
Win–Loss 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–4 0–4 0–1 1–3 0–1 0–0 3–16
Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR LQ (Q#) A P Z# PO SF-B F-S G NMS NH

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melanie Oudin.
Awards
Preceded by
Denmark Caroline Wozniacki		 WTA Newcomer of the Year
2009 		Succeeded by
Czech Republic Petra Kvitová