The Cellular South Cup announced that American Melanie Oudin has entered the 2010 Cellular South Cup, the premier women’s professional tennis tournament in the Mid-South. Oudin joins three-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova (RUS) as the first two entrants into the 2010 Cellular South Cup singles field of players.

 

The Cellular South Cup will be played February 14-20, 2010 at The Racquet Club of Memphis. Oudin will play her first-round singles match on Tuesday, February 16 during the evening session. Ticket packages and group tickets to the 2010 Cellular South Cup are on-sale now and are available by calling (901) 765-4401 or via email. Individual session tickets will go on sale in January 2010. Additional information about the Cellular South Cup can be found on the tournament website at www.memphistennis.com.

 

“We are thrilled to have Melanie Oudin enter the singles field of players at the 2010 Cellular South Cup,” said Tournament Director Peter Lebedevs. “Melanie grabbed the attention of our entire country when she took the US Open by storm - and reached the quarterfinals. She’s now America’s #3 player (behind the Williams Sisters). We look forward to her return to Memphis and her continued success in 2010 here at the Cellular South Cup.”

 

Oudin, 18,enters to the Cellular South Cup playing the best tennis of her career. A 2009 Wildcard entry into the 2009 Cellular South Cup singles field, Oudin's 2009 singles record is 39-15. After starting 2009 ranked #209, she is currently ranked #49 in the world. At the 2009 U.S. Open, Oudin captured the attention and hearts of tennis fans around the world when she defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, #4 seed Elena Dementieva, #29 seed Maria Sharapova and #13 seed Nadia Petrova before falling to 2009 Cellular South Cup doubles champion (w/V. Azarenka) and singles finalist Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Oudin, who was born in and resides in Marietta, Georgia, is coached by Brian de Villiers.

 

“On behalf of Cellular South, I’m delighted to welcome Melanie back to Memphis for the 2010 Cellular South Cup,” said Jim Richmond, Director, Corporate Communications, Cellular South. “It was a pleasure to watch her incredible quarterfinal run in the 2009 U.S. Open, and we hope her visit to Memphis in February is a springboard for even greater success in 2010.”