Parents' Scandal Darkens Oudin's Run

Tennis phenom Melanie Oudin ended her storied run at the US Open last night, and mere hours later the dark clouds of scandal swirled over her moment in the sun, Bill Dwyre writes in the Los Angeles Times, as Sports Illustrated reported that mom Leslie had an affair with her 17-year-old daughter's coach. "Before this became public, there would be no asterisks next to what Oudin achieved," Dwrye writes.

Now, memories of Oudin's unlikely US Open run—she lost in the quarterfinals—"will come with rolled eyes." Rather than allowing the story to break on its own and cloud Oudin's achievement, the family should have called a news conference early in the tournament and come clean, Dwyre writes. But, "once again, the adults have apparently found a way to wreck things for the kids."
(More Leslie Oudin stories.)