I feel like a regular girl most of the time,” says eighteen-year-old tennis star Melanie Oudin. “Except it’s a little different now that I get to meet people like Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Timberlake , and Conan O’Brien.” No kidding. The Georgia native, who captured the collective consciousness in September at the U.S. Open, began her career at seven: “I started hitting balls with my sister because my grandpa was a fan of the sport. Back then, I wondered what it’d be like to play on the U.S. Open courts.” If you ask Beauty Blogger, “play” would be an understatement–perhaps dominate was the word she meant to use? Melanie won four matches in a row –trumping older, higher-seeded players–before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Her streak earned her a teen sensation title that she’s still getting used to. “It’s crazy that people call me a celebrity,” she says. “I’m still me. All my friends treat me the same–they like me for me, not how well I do.” When she’s not on the court, Melanie keeps in shape by cross-training and following a super-balanced nutrition plan. “I practice in the morning and have protein afterward,” she notes, “and I eat carbs throughout the day for energy.” No Atkins diet for this girl! “I also have a lot of fruits and veggies.” She mixes up her regimen occasionally by playing soccer: “It’s my second-favorite sport. When I was little, I had to choose between tennis and soccer because it was too much to play both.” And she loves dabbling in fashion with Adidas, her sponsor. “They asked me to design a pair of shoes for the Open. I made them crazy so they would stand out,” Melanie recalls of her customized sneakers. “But I wanted to put a word on the side of the shoe instead of my name. My boyfriend gave me the idea to put believe. It describes how I want to play and what I need to remember. It has definitely worked for me!”