USTA ‘regrets’ Cornet violation call

Responding to the outcry triggered when an umpire called a code violation against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet for changing her shirt on the court even though male players were allowed to do so, the US Tennis Association (USTA) said on Wednesday all competitors at the US Open will be permitted to change their shirts while seated in a courtside chair.

The USTA, which operates the US Open, also expressed “regret” the violation was assessed.

Cornet went to the locker room and changed into a clean shirt during a 10-minute break after the second set of her match. After realising she had put the garment on backward, she pulled it over her head and reversed it between points, when the umpire called the violation. She lost to Johanna Larsson in three sets but said the incident was not the cause. She also said she appreciated the apology but was over the whole thing. “When I woke up I didn’t think that this code violation would become so famous in less than 24 hours. Because on the court it seemed like a mistake from umpire and nothing else.”

It was widely seen as another effort to impose unfair controls on female players because it happened a few days after the head of the French tennis federation outlawed the catsuit Serena Williams wore at the French Open. “What Bernard Giudicelli said about Serena’s catsuit was 10,000 times worse than what happened to me on the court,” Cornet said, “because he’s president of the French Federation and he doesn’t have to do that.”