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Melanie Oudin
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By Sally Milano, USTA.com
Melanie Oudin has been one of the country's top junior players over the last several years, and she is now making her mark at the professional level, as well.
The 16-year-old from Marietta, Ga., has had a phenomenal year in 2008, capturing the first pro title of her career at $50,000 Lexington in July and reaching her first pro final at $25,000 Fort Walton Beach as a qualifier in February.
In junior play, Oudin has won three ITF tournaments this year -- the Easter Bowl - U.S. Closed Championships, International Spring Championships and Roehampton -- and she posted her best Grand Slam results to date at Roland Garros, where she reached the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles.
Oudin is currently ranked No. 1 in the USTA girls' 18s, No. 3 in the ITF World Junior Rankings and No. 230 in the WTA Rankings. She recently took time from her busy schedule to talk with USTA.com about her first pro win, the end of her junior career, her upcoming plans and more.
USTA.com: Congratulations on your great results in Lexington. How does it feel to have won your first pro title?
Melanie Oudin: It feels so good! I was so close in February to winning. I lost, 7-6, in the third in the finals of the $25K, so I was so looking forward to winning this final. I wanted to win it so badly.
USTA.com: How did you feel going into the tournament? Did you think you had a chance to take the title?
Melanie Oudin: I knew there were a lot of good players in it, so I was just planning on playing my best and hopefully it would go well. But I was playing good from the start, so I knew if I could keep that up then hopefully everything would work out good.
USTA.com: It certainly did. You cruised through the draw, not dropping a set to anyone. What would you say worked well for you during the week?
Melanie Oudin: I think I really figured my opponents out. I got down a lot in the beginnings of the first set, especially in my quarterfinal. I was down 4-0 and 5-2, and I came back to win the first set. And after I won that first set, it was like the momentum changed. I think I adjusted really well, and I kept being aggressive, and I didn’t let up at all, which was really good.
USTA.com: Did you do anything special to celebrate your win?
Melanie Oudin: No, not really. I just came home because I had been in Europe for six weeks right before that, and I was just home for a week when I went to Lexington. Coming home was fun, dishing with my family.
USTA.com: You’ve been splitting your time between junior tournaments and playing on the USTA Pro Circuit. Is this something you plan to continue in the future?
Melanie Oudin: Actually, my last junior tournament is going to be the US Open, so I’m looking forward to doing well there. I’ll be playing all pro tournaments from then on.
USTA.com: How do you feel about that… playing your last junior tournament ever?
Melanie Oudin: I’m so excited for the US Open because I played the French and Wimbledon and they’re out of the country, and people are more against you. The US Open is definitely my favorite Grand Slam. I’m so looking forward to going to New York and playing. And being my last junior tournament, it’s going to be really exciting, too, so I’m hoping to do really well there.
USTA.com: How do you like being in New York? I’m sure it’s really different than Marietta, Ga., where you’re from.
Melanie Oudin: It’s very different. It’s so crowded there. There’s a lot of traffic and a lot of stuff going on and some interesting people, but I think New York is pretty fun. A lot of the time I’m just staying at the site but sometimes will go to see a play or something like that, and I’ve been sightseeing there, and they have a lot of cool stuff, which is fun.
USTA.com: Do you spend much time at home in Marietta, or are you on the road a lot?
Melanie Oudin: This summer I’ve done a lot of traveling, but I live out of my house and train here, so I’m here a lot of the time, which is good. The summer has been really busy, and it doesn’t seem like I’ve been home that much, but I will be now.
USTA.com: So what is a typical day like for you? Do you go to regular school? Are you home-schooled?
Melanie Oudin: I’m home-schooled, so I get up in the morning about 7:30 and start my homework around 8. I’ll do that from 8-11, and then I’ll do tennis and will finish with tennis maybe at 4:30. And that’s including tennis practice, drills, match play – all that stuff. And then sometimes I do fitness after, it just depends. And then I’ll come home, usually eat dinner, do a little more homework and go to bed because I’m so tired. So that’s basically my day.
USTA.com: When you have free time, what do you like to do?
Melanie Oudin: We have a place called “Avenue” that’s really close to my house, and I go there to hang out a lot with my friends. And I like to go to the movies and sometimes just hang at home with my family on weekends and just chill here and not really do anything… just have a relaxing day.
USTA.com: So you have a twin sister? Does she play tennis, too, and if so, do you ever play together?
Melanie Oudin: We still play together a lot. She plays No. 1 on her high school team. She’s extremely academic, and she wants to go to college and get a scholarship, and I’m sure she will. She doesn’t play any ITF tournaments or anything, but she plays nationals. We each have different goals, which is good for twins. We don’t have to compete with each other.
USTA.com: Do you have any other brothers and sisters?
Melanie Oudin: I have one other little sister who is 10, and she plays, and she’s good. She could be really good, but she’s more of a really, really social person. Not that that’s a bad thing or anything, but she doesn’t play that many tournaments. She’d rather go to the mall or something instead of going to tennis practice. But you never can tell at 10 years old.
USTA.com: How old were you when you started?
Melanie Oudin: When I started, I was seven. My sister, Katherine, and I started with my grandma, actually, and we really, really liked it.
USTA.com: You have accomplished so much this year already, both at the junior and professional levels. Have you set any specific goals for yourself, both short- and long-term?
Melanie Oudin: My goal for the end of this year would be to be in the top 200 in the WTA rankings because I think that would be possible, but I only get [to play in] so many [pro] tournaments, and I don’t know how many tournaments I have left this year. I don’t think it’s that many.
USTA.com: You’re close to that now.
Melanie Oudin: Yeah, so if I can do well, maybe get that wild card into the US Open and win a round or two there, that would help a lot.
Eventually, I want to become No. 1 in the world. That’s always my goal, but I know it takes steps and it can’t just all of a sudden happen. So I’m going to start playing more of the tour tournaments. I think it definitely helps once you get top 150. Then you can get into all the Grand Slam qualies. Top 100 is even better. But first to get top 150 by next year would be really great. I would really like to do that.
And short-term goals, I’d really like to win the US Open juniors. I really want to win a junior Grand Slam. And keep improving my game. I just need to keep getting quicker and stronger and just keep working on all my different shots and strengths and weaknesses.