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The US Open have been slammed after a chair umpire penalized Alize Cornet with a code violation after she was caught turning her top the right way around on the court.
The French player, who is ranked 31st in the world among professional female players, was facing Swedish star Johanna Larsson in New York on Tuesday.
Due to the crushing humidity and soaring temperatures at Flushing Meadows, all players were given a 10-minute heat break to cool off.
When Cornet was heading back to the court after the break, she appeared to notice that her top she had changed into was on backwards. Cornet quickly turned away from the cameras and pulled the shirt up and moved it around the correct way.
During the clothing change, which only took about fifteen seconds, she exposed her black sports bra.
When Cornet turned back towards the Center Court, the chair umpire, Christian Rask, punished her with a code violation for “unsportsmanlike behavior” and deemed the action "inappropriate".
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rules stipulate that female players can't change their clothing while on the court and must instead go to a dressing room. The rules state that “a player can only change clothes during the end of a set, or during a medical timeout, in an off-court location”.
Male players, however, are allowed to do so, and regularly change their shirts on court. On occasion, male players also sit on the sidelines without their shirts on.
The punishment shocked not only Cornet but also all her fans, including her coach Judy Murray, who took to social media to express their thoughts on the blatant sexism:
US Open chiefs have since admitted that they were wrong in charging Cornet for misconduct. In a statement issued on Wednesday, they said, “All players can change their shirts when sitting in the player chair. This is not considered a code violation.”
“We regret that a code violation was assessed to Ms. Cornet yesterday. We have clarified the policy to ensure this will not happen moving forward. Fortunately, she was only assessed a warning with no further penalty or fine."
“Female players, if they choose, may also change their shirts in a more private location close to the court, when available. They will not be assessed a bathroom break in this circumstance.”
