Former American tennis player Melanie Oudin once promised to be tennis’ next big star. Just a year later to turning pro in 2008, Oudin pulled off four upsets at the U.S. Open, including against Maria Sharapova, becoming the youngest(at 17 years) quarterfinalist since Serena Williams(in 1999). Unfortunately, injuries and a heart arrhythmia cut her career short in 2017. Even after retirement, Oudin’s love for tennis remains strong. As we look to the future, the question arises: Can a rising star like Coco Gauff fulfill the promise that Oudin once held?

On December 6th, the 33-year-old appeared on the Tennis Channel Inside-In Podcast. She reminisced about the era of Serena and Venus Williams, followed by a generation of American players including Christina McHale, CoCo Vandeweghe, Alison Riske-Amritraj, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, and Jessica Pegula. She believes that Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins have the potential to become the next big stars in American tennis.

While reflecting on her thoughts, Melanie Oudin stated, “Now we have so many right, it’s like it took a little bit of time and now it’s like amazing. We have so many players and you know Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins, like I mean there are just so many players. I’m forgetting a bunch right. The American tennis is at an amazing place right now. Serena and Venus led the way right for so many but it took a little bit of time and all these people that were saying ‘Where are they? Where are they?’, like well they’re coming right, they’re here now!”

Coco Gauff is just 20 years old and has already won 9 titles in her career, including the Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open. Do you know in 2022, Coco Gauff became the youngest American to reach the QF of the US Open since Melanie Oudin? She also became the youngest player to win the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova in 2004 and the first American to win the finals since Serena Williams in 2014. On the other hand, even Danielle Collins had an extraordinary season this year. Interestingly, Collins has won four titles so far in her career, and guess what? Two of them came in this season itself! 

In 2019, after seeing the youngster’s enormous talent, she Oudin, “She’s (Gauff) amazing. Gosh. Unbelievable. At just 15? You don’t see that at all. One of the biggest things is for her to stay level-headed, stay grounded.” Both Gauff and Oudin have faced quite a few challenges in their careers.

Well, while replying to a question about her tennis journey amid all the pressures in a previous interview, Melanie Oudin said, “There were no other Americans coming up then. None. It was like Serena and Venus Williams and me. And people were looking at me to step up. People were telling me all the time, ‘You’re going to be the next best American!’ It was a lot.”

Do you know both Oudin and Gauff were heavily inspired by the tennis journey of the Williams sisters in the early phases of their careers?

How did the Williams sisters inspire Coco Gauff and Melanie Oudin in their tennis careers?

In October 2024, during an interview, Coco Gauff spoke about how tough was it for her to come out from the Black community and take up the racquet sport. She said nobody knew anything about that and she felt that literally nobody cared either about the sport around her. However, things got changed when she saw Venus and Serena Willimas on her TV. It was the Williams sisters who made her believe that even she could be the GOAT of tennis at some point in her career.

Talking about the role of the Williams sisters, she once revealed, “As a little girl, it was very important to see representation and see myself in players, especially in the field where it is predominantly white. I don’t think I would have had the belief I could do it if it wasn’t for them.” From sitting in the second row of the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium with her dad during a Venus Williams match to beating her at the opening round of the Wimbledon Championships in 2019, Coco Gauff has come a long way.

Oudin’s best career record was winning the mixed doubles title at the US Open along with Jack Sock in 2011. Just like Gauff, even Melanie Oudin’s tennis career is hugely inspired by the journey of the Williams sisters. During the same podcast, Oudin revealed, “I watched Venus and Serena when was really young on TV playing at Wimbledon and the US Open. I told my mom that I wanted to be there one day playing on those courts.”

Interestingly, both Gauff and Oudin made a stellar start to their tennis careers. Can Coco Gauff follow the footsteps of the Williams sisters and Oudin successfully?