Female player briefly takes off shirt in US Open heat, hit with very dumb penalty

Female player briefly takes off shirt in US Open heat, hit with very dumb penalty

Female player briefly takes off shirt in US Open heat, hit with very dumb penalty

A simple shirt adjustment at the US Open is whirling into a hot controversy over one very dumb application of a code violation.

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. https://t.co/sCN4KDXYTb

— judy murray (@JudyMurray) August 28, 2018

Alize Cornet, like every other tennis player at the US Open this week was very hot. It has been so hot at the tournament that there is a “heat rule” in place to protect players. So Cornet, like many other athletes and everyday people playing sports do when they are hot, changed into a fresh shirt in the middle of a match. Then, according to reports, she noticed it was on the wrong way.

No big deal right, I mean she’s wearing a sports bra?

Eh, sometimes the world is terrible. From The Telegraph:

When she returned to the court, Cornet realised her shirt was on the wrong way round and so quickly changed it. The adjustment took no more than 15 seconds and she was wearing a sports-bra.
However, the chair umpire stunned Cornet by hitting her with a code violation in response to the seemingly innocent action.

People were outraged. Because really, this is ridiculous.

Alize Cornet was handed a court violation at the #USOpen for breifly removing her shirt, highlighting the disparity between male and female players. https://t.co/sxBmXpqpSv pic.twitter.com/SlJkeapxzW

— ABC Grandstand (@abcgrandstand) August 29, 2018

More from the Telegraph:

“Maybe the rules should change to be a little better for us. But we also understand this is a business, we are not robots, we can’t just do our thing,” Cornet said then, after a loss to Elise Mertens.
“I don’t want to play a match like today again. I understand both sides. It’s ugly for everyone.
“It’s heat stroke, I started feeling very bad, my head was spinning, my body hurt, it’s very strange. I felt that if I continued I had a good chance of serious problem.”

Busted for code violation 🙄 #alizecornet took 10 sec to turn top right way but #novacdjokovic can sit for minutes half-naked. Same comp. Days after @serenawilliams slammed for disrespecting tennis because she wore a #catsuit. Not fair. Not right. Tell your daughters 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pJILnwvUvG

— Alissa Warren (@alissawarren) August 29, 2018