Georgia native Melanie Oudin retires
Melanie Oudin is retiring from professional tennis, eight years after her captivating run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals as a teenager.
The 25-year-old American announced her decision in a series of posts on Twitter on Friday.
“Tennis has given me so much and I will always be grateful,” Oudin wrote. “It wasn’t exactly the entire career I had dreamed of, but in life things don’t always go as planned.”
Oudin has dealt with a series of health problems in recent years. Those included a diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis, a muscledamaging condition which may be caused by intense exertion, in 2013, and a procedure to address occasional episodes of an accelerated heartbeat the following year.
She has not played a professional match since entering lower-level ITF tournaments last season.
“Unfortunately, since the end of 2012, I have been struck with numerous health issues and injuries. I would work so hard to come back after being out, and then something else would happen,” Oudin wrote. “It has definitely taken a toll on me mentally and physically over the last five years or so.”
Oudin has been ranked as high as 31st but is now outside the top 400.
She won one WTA singles title, on grass at Birmingham, England, in 2012, and teamed with Jack Sock to win the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship in 2011.