does melanie oudin still believe?

One of the highlights of our visit to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells? Seeing this purple dress from Wilson hanging on a mannequin. The Chicago-based brand’s continued to up their game, starting with that lovely blank/pink motif at the 2010 US Open, and moving to brighter colors (white, teal, lavender) to work with the sunny backdrops of Spring ’11 tourneys. (BTW, we heard someone mention that Busted Racquet gave her a hard time about this dress in Melbourne. Is this true?)

And what of the Oudin slogans (“Believe” in 2009 and “Courage” in 2010) — will Melanie and Wilson drum one up in time for this year’s U.S. Open? “We will try to keep it going for sure,” said Melanie’s agent, Sam Duvall. They’re looking for the right time to bring it back, he added. I say that time is now, because missy needs a boost: she’s 5-7 so far this year. On the flip side, that’s enough to keep her ranking of 75th, making making her the fourth-best American on the tour(!). Perhaps the slogan should come back for all of U.S. women’s tennis?

Your thoughts: Will Melanie Oudin will stay ahead of Americans Coco Vandeweghe? Varvara Lepchenko? Christina McHale? Vania King? What do you think? Tell us!

Buy: La Divine Dress, in white or lavender, $72; La Divine Tank, in white or pool (teal), $48; the rest of Wilson’s women’s gear here.

(images via Getty Images)

Tags: bnp paribas open, indian wells