This victory, his first against a Top 30, made him known to the public. Ouanna then lost in the third round to Fernando Gonzalez in three sets (7–5, 6–3, 7–5). At the 2009 US Open, he lost to González once again, this time in the second round. After the tournament, he entered the Top 100 for the first time. At the 2010 French Open, he beat Łukasz Kubot in the first round before losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round. In 2012, he won the Challenger tournaments of Cherbourg and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and climbed back up 256 places in the ATP rankings throughout the year, reaching 120th place at the end of the year. After Nicolas Mahut forfeited his spot for the tournament, Ouanna retrieved a wild-card to take part to the 2013 Australian Open. He lost to Alejandro Falla in the first round, in straight sets (4–6, 5–7, 4–6).