Cornet surprised shirt change caused Open stir
NEW YORK – It wouldn’t have been anticipated that a day after French player Alize Cornet lost her first-round match to Swede Johanna Larsson she’d be a hot topic at the US Open.
But that’s how it ended up Wednesday. During Tuesday’s loss, Cornet came back on court after the 10-minute heat break between the second and third sets and prepared to start playing. While on the baseline, however, her boyfriend in the stands pointed out that her shirt was on backward.
That’s when the problem arose. She quickly removed her top, momentarily revealing a black-and-red sports bra, to put it on correctly. Umpire Christian Rask called a code violation warning for unsportsmanlike conduct on Cornet, which definitely caught her by surprise.
“I think just the umpire was probably overwhelmed by the situation,” Cornet said after losing her doubles match Wednesday. “You know, we were all very hot outside. Maybe it just didn’t make the right decision. Of course, I was surprised when I just changed T-shirt really quick and he gave me the code violation. I didn’t expect it, and I told him it was pretty weird.
“I kept playing; I was trying to win my match. So I just got over it very fast. And now after thinking about it, ‘Yeah, I’m just convinced that the umpire was making a mistake.’ ”
Since the incident, social media has blown up over the incident.
By Wednesday morning, the United States Tennis Association, which operates the US Open, issued a statement apologizing to Cornet. “All players can change their shirts when sitting in the player chair,” the statement said. “This is not considered a Code Violation. ... We have clarified the policy to ensure this will not happen moving forward.”
Said Cornet: “I think it’s very fair from them (the USTA) to apologize to me. I mean, I think that the proportion that it took is huge. When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think that this code vi- olation would become so famous in less than 24 hours, and I’m very surprised about it, actually, to be honest.”
The women’s WTA Tour also responded, emphatic in its support of Cornet.
The code violation “was unfair and it was not based on a WTA rule, as the WTA has no rule against a change of at- tire on court,” the WTA statement said. “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.”
The umpire was likely using the current 2018 Grand Slam Rule Book standards, which states that a player is “entitled to two (2) breaks during a match” to change their attire. It also says, additional breaks will be authorized but will be penalized if the player is not ready to play within the allowed time.
While there is nothing clear-cut in the rule that addresses a woman changing on court, it can be interpreted that just by having a rule that allows a female player to go off court to change means they’re not meant to do so on the court.
Two-time Australian Open champ Victoria Azarenka, who won Wednesday, finds it disturbing that in 2018 a woman changing her top even garners attention. “It was nothing wrong,” she said. “I couldn’t believe this was a conversation. I’m glad they apologized, and I hope this never happens again.”