One-time US Open sensation Melanie Oudin is still making her mark on American tennis

The legendary boxer Muhammad Ali once said something that still holds tremendous value to this day: “Don’t count your days, make your days count.” The opportunities you get in life are not indefinite, and you have to maximize the moments you get to be special.

Melanie Oudin embodied that very motto 15 years ago, when at 17, she became the focal point of the tennis world. She reached the quarterfinals of the US Open as a teenager, dispatching some of the game’s absolute best players in thrilling fashion. Time stood still for Oudin, and she established herself as a legitimate star in the making. But then, time began to move, and several physical setbacks occurred in brutal succession.

Her playing career may have ended prematurely, but Oudin’s fire for tennis never extinguished.

She recently joined the Inside-In Podcast to reflect on that momentous run at Flushing Meadows that still gets people talking to this day, and to explain why her new mission is coaching the next generation of American hopefuls.

Oudin had her mind set on pro tennis from a young age, so her success in the spotlight shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. She turned pro in 2008 and went to work, quickly adjusting to the grind and physicality of the highest level the sport has to offer. After reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon as a qualifier the following year, she was ready to make her mark in New York City.

“My coach says to me, ‘Melanie, if you want to win the US Open, you have to beat like six Russians and William sister,’” Oudin recalls of the stacked list of opponents in her way. “That US Open I believed I could win. Like I knew that my level was just as good as everyone else, and any person I was against, I thought I could win the match."

She came close: Oudin defeated four Top 40 players, including former champion Maria Sharapova, to become a fan favorite and overnight sensation in fell swoop.

“Exactly right after I beat Sharapova … it was like no one knew me the day before, and then everybody knew me the day after I played her.”

For Oudin, that moment signified more than just individual success. American women’s tennis was thriving, but even with the Williams sisters at the height of their powers, the prognosticators were questioning who could be next in line for the stars and stripes.

Oudin was part of a generation that was often maligned, due in large part to the impossible task of following two of the all-time greatest players in the history of tennis.

“I feel like for a while people were saying, oh there’s no one coming up. Like, 'Who’s going to be next after Serena and Venus?' For a little bit, it was me,” Oudin says. “American tennis is at an amazing place right now. Serena and Venus led the way for so many, but it took a little bit of time. All those people that were saying, ‘Where are they?’ They’re coming, and they’re here now.”

Pro athletes have a shelf life, and for Oudin, injuries and a health scare forced her into an early retirement in 2017 at age 25. With an entire life to still live, Oudin thought long and hard about what her next chapter would be. She came back to tennis, this time as a high-performance coach for the USTA.

“I really started falling in love with it, and I’ve been really lucky to be around great coaches,” she proudly proclaims. But when it’s time to work, Oudin transforms into her alter ego, “Coach Mel.”

“Personality wise, yes I’m still known as being bubbly and things like that. But on the court … someone called me 'rigid' one time! I’ve been called nitpicky, and I’m definitely strict,” she stated with a glimmer in her eye.

“I’m definitely not one of those coaches that’s going to say, 'You’re doing great! This is great, you’re playing awesome,' and telling them what they want to hear. I actually want to help them and tell them, 'This is how you get there' … in a positive way, but honest.”

Oudin continues to be a driving force in American tennis; she’s just doing it as a teacher instead of a competitor now. While her playing career didn’t have the longevity that she or her fans would have liked, she still made a lasting impression on the sport.

Also in this episode, Oudin explains why she loves being involved in the game, and why she feels refreshed spending time with friends outside of the tennis bubble, who don’t discuss the game at all. Oudin has found the proper work-life balance and has found her second calling.

And as she said at the end of the episode, she’s not leaving the sport anytime soon.

“I’m really enjoying what I’m doing, working with USTA and coaching in Atlanta also," she says, "so I’m sure you’ll see me around in the future.”