Melanie Oudin made the quarterfinals of the 2009 U.S. Open at 17 years old, beating two top 15 players and Maria Sharapova, then a three-time Grand Slam champ, along the way. Headlines during the tournament included Melanie Oudin: The U.S. Open’s Cinderella Story, Oudin’s Wild Ride Reaches the Quarterfinals and How Much is Oudin Worth?
Five years later, Oudin no longer was the talk of Flushing Meadows, but rather one of 32 players in the final round of the 2014 U.S. Open Qualifying tournament. There, she was attempting to earn her spot in the main draw of the season’s final Grand Slam.