Quick change for USTA: Women CAN switch shirts
Perhaps the heat just got to the U.S. Tennis Association.
The day after issuing a code violation to France’s Alize Cornet for changing her shirt during a match played in sauna-like conditions, the USTA changed its tune.
“All players can change their shirts when sitting in the chair,” the USTA said in a statement Wednesday. “This is not considered a code violation.”
Actually, the USTA had no choice. The Women’s Tennis Association has no rule against players changing attire on the court.
On Tuesday, Cornet left Court 13 and did something the men do all the time, she removed her sweat-soaked shirt during a 10-minute, heat-related break before the third set of her first-round U.S. Open loss to Sweden’s Johanna Larsson.
“I had to run back to the court because I was late for the beginning of the third set,” Cornet said. “I just put my T-shirt on super-fast and I didn’t see that it was on the wrong way. For me, I couldn’t play the whole third set like this.”
When Cornet took off her shirt the umpire assessed a code violation for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Male players regularly take off their shirts on the court and receive no code violations.
The USTA’s decsion drew fire from the WTA, which called the umpire’s ruling “unfair and not based on a WTA rule.”
Cornet, who probably didn’t get this much attention when she upset then-World No. 1 Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2014, said she was surprised by players’ reactions when she arrived at the Open Wednesday morning.
“Many players came to me, even former players like [Hall of Famer] Tracy Austin,” Cornet said. “All the players were supporting me and telling me that if I get fined, we would all be together and make a revolution and stuff.”
But there won’t be a women’s uprising at the Open. At least, not over this issue. Cornet received an apology, not a fine, from the USTA.
“Female players, if they choose, may also change their shirts in a more private location close to the court, when available,” the USTA added. “They will not be assessed a bathroom break in this circumstance.”
No sweat.