US Open: Umpire shouldn't have warned woman for shirt change

The US Tennis Association (USTA) has acknowledged that a chair umpire incorrectly warned French player Alize Cornet for changing her shirt on court at the US Open the latest example in recent days of ways in which men and women are treated differently in tennis.

Off court during a 10-minute indoor break because of excessive heat during Tuesday's first-round match, Cornet changed out of her sweat-soaked outfit.

She rushed to get dressed before play resumed, she said, and put her top on backward, but didn't realize there was a problem until her boyfriend pointed it out.

That's when, standing behind a baseline, Cornet pulled off her shirt and put it back on the right way.

Chair umpire Christian Rask then admonished Cornet during her 4-6 6-3 6-2 loss to Sweden's Johanna Larsson.

"Of course, I was surprised when I just changed (the) T-shirt really quick, and he gave me the code violation," Cornet said at a news conference yesterday.

"I didn't expect it, and I told him it was pretty weird."
"It was nothing wrong. Nothing wrong. It wasn't anything disrespectful. She literally changed her shirt because it was backwards. So I couldn't believe this was a conversation. I'm glad they apologized, and I hope this never happens again."
The women's tennis tour, the WTA, called the umpire's warning "unfair," pointed out there was no rule prohibiting what Cornet did and said, "Alize did nothing wrong."
"Then we still have some people, like the president of my federation, that lives in another, you know, time and can still (make) these kind of comments. They are totally, for me, shocking."
Added Cornet: "What Bernard Giudicelli said about Serena's catsuit was 10,000 times worse than what happened to me on the court."