US Open regrets penalising Alize Cornet for changing shirt on court
"Alize did nothing wrong" - Women's Tennis Association statement
Thursday 30 August 2018 16:38, UK
The US Open says it "regrets" Alize Cornet receiving a code violation for taking her shirt off and switching it around on court.
Cornet had changed her shirt after the second set against Johanna Larsson on Tuesday but realised upon her return to court that it was on back-to-front and took it off to correct it, before receiving the code violation from the umpire.
The US Open statement read: "All players can change their shirt while 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."
Cornet's on-court shirt switch penalised
The Women's Tennis Association distanced itself of any blame, claiming the "unfair" decision to award Cornet a code was not based on any of their own rules.
"The code violation that USTA handed to Alize Cornet during here first-round match at the US Open was unfair and it was not based on a WTA rule, as WTA has no rule against a change of attire on court," the statement read.
"The WTA has always been and always will be a pioneer for women and women's sports. This code violation came under the Grand Slam rules and we are pleased to see the USTA has now changed this policy. Alize did nothing wrong."
Cornet took advantage of the 10-minute break afforded to players at this year's tournament in New York due to high temperatures by swapping shirts in the changing room during her loss to Larsson on Tuesday.
However, the world No 31 realised upon her return to the court that her shirt was on backwards. She took off the top - revealing a sports-bra underneath - to quickly adjust her shirt to the correct position.
In response, the umpire handed the French player a code violation - despite the fact male players are allowed to change on court.
Judy Murray wrote on Twitter: "Alize Cornet came back to court after 10 minute heat break. Had her fresh shirt on back to front. Changed at back of court. Got a code violation. Unsportsmanlike conduct..... But the men can change shirts on court."
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Tennis is back on Sky Sports screens with the Laver Cup in September while we will also have coverage of the ATP Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports. But first, we will be across the final major of the year in New York as the US Open right through to the final with live blogs, reports, features and reaction.
