While the rain is messing up the US Open schedule for the second day in a row, let’s once again talk about the star of the tournament – 17-year-old American Melanie Oudin.
The $175,000 that Oudin earned by reaching the quarterfinals weren’t the only financial benefit the sensation of the US Open took home. The success brought Oudin the biggest endorsement of her career, a multi-year contract with data mining firm BackOffice Associates, believed to be for a six-figure sum guaranteed annually, plus performance bonuses.
Oudin signed the contract just 20 minutes prior to her quarterfinal encounter with Caroline Wozniacki.
Who the hell is managing her? Signing a contract 20 minutes before the biggest match of her life?! I think she should have been focused on the match, no?
RichF, it is odd, but you know, money comes first. The deal was negotiated by Sam Duvall, her agent with BEST. It all happened so fast, just as fast as Oudin became famous.
Mining company in a developed nation… American finance= superfluous money that must be wasted in unnecessary projects. Think of the poverty in developing nations, wouldn’t it be better if they had invested that into the numerous starving children off the dusty streets of Africa and not a 17 year old girl who found fame and might lose it as quickly as in the 10 days in New York? America doesn’t care, they’ve been so deprived of talent other than the dominant Williams that any blonde, young invader will send a tornado of media sensationalism across their borders.
“…America doesn’t care, they’ve been so deprived of talent other than the dominant Williams that any blonde, young invader will send a tornado of media sensationalism across their borders.”
Zuleika, I couldn’t have typed it better myself. The fact that Americans were claiming her “the last American in the draw” proved it. They will never admit that they hate that their current tennis champions did not come from a dapper tennis academy with parents who pay $30,000 a year for country club membership. It’s sickening how overrated she is. She got lucky to face mentally fragile Russians who practically handed the matches to her. I was so happy when Caroline beat Sveta because I knew that she would’ve been another victim to the “pressure” to win. It looks like Oudin’ll face Russians in all of her slam matches from now on (similar to how Petrova “magically” turns up into Sharapova’s side of the draw in 90% of the tournaments they play) .