The 21st century
United States · born 1991, from Marietta, Georgia · Birmingham champion 2012 from qualifying
All playersBack to the rankings
1
WTA singles title, Birmingham 2012, on grass
8
Matches won in Birmingham 2012, qualifying included
17
Her age when she reached the Wimbledon fourth round as a qualifier in 2009
31
Career-high WTA singles ranking, April 2010
2011
US Open mixed doubles champion with Jack Sock
Melanie Oudin, from Marietta, Georgia, was born in 1991 and began playing at seven. She turned professional in 2008. In the summer of 2009, aged 17, she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon as a qualifier and then the US Open quarter-finals as a wildcard, beating four Russians in a row: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Elena Dementieva, Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova. She reached No. 31 in April 2010 and helped the United States to the 2010 Fed Cup final, where she beat Francesca Schiavone.
In 2011 she won the US Open mixed doubles with Jack Sock. Her singles ranking had fallen outside the top 200 when she won her only WTA title, on grass at Birmingham in 2012. Injuries and a heart condition then held her back; her last professional title came in doubles on grass at Surbiton in 2016. She announced her retirement in August 2017, aged 25.
| Birmingham 2012 | Came through qualifying and won eight matches, beating the 10th seed Sorana Cîrstea in the first round, the eighth seed Ekaterina Makarova in the semi-finals and Jelena Janković 6-4, 6-2 in a rain-delayed Monday final. She was the first player ranked outside the top 200 to win a tour title since Kim Clijsters at the 2009 US Open, and the title earned her a Wimbledon wildcard |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 2009 | As a qualifier beat the 29th seed Sybille Bammer, Yaroslava Shvedova and the sixth seed Jelena Janković 6-7, 7-5, 6-2, then lost in the fourth round to Agnieszka Radwańska 6-4, 7-5 |
| Surbiton 2016 | Won the doubles at the ITF event, the last professional title of her career |
| Birmingham | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Women's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"It was like this came out of nowhere."
The person behind the player.
US Open, 2009
During her run to the 2009 US Open quarter-finals, the word "BELIEVE" was etched on her shoes. She beat four Russian players in a row, including Maria Sharapova, before Caroline Wozniacki stopped her, and she left the court to a standing ovation.
Source: Tennis.comBirmingham, June 2012
"It was like this came out of nowhere," she said after the final. "I'd been working away for a long time, and I was waiting for something to happen and it didn't. Until now, that is." Janković had played a four-hour semi-final the day before, and both finalists had played twice on the Sunday because of rain.
Source: Fox Sports (Associated Press)Wimbledon 2009 and Birmingham 2012
Her first taste of Grand Slam success came at Wimbledon in 2009, where as a qualifier she beat the world No. 6, Jelena Janković. Her opponent in the Birmingham final three years later was Janković again.
Source: Tennis.comUS Open, 2011
In a year when her singles slipped, she won the US Open mixed doubles with Jack Sock, beating Gisela Dulko and Eduardo Schwank in the final, the biggest title of her career.
Source: Tennis.comChildhood
Her grandmother gave her and her twin sister their first racquets and lessons. Her idol was Justine Henin, because, she said, Henin "proved you don't have to be tall to win things."
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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