The recent crackdown on the outfits of female tennis players has sent many of us into a justifiable frenzy. Firstly, it was the banning of Serena William‘s “Black Panter“-inspired catsuit by French Open officials. Then it was the absurd code violation Alizé Cornet received at the US Open for her changing her backwards top on court.
It didn’t take long for the world to notice that, in a world full of extreme double standards, no male tennis player receives the same scrutiny or restrictions in relation to his tennis outfits.
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
The US Open and the WTA have released official statements in relation to the fiasco involving Cornet. The US Open seemingly tried to backtrack on their decision, placing the blame on Cornet for not changing her shirt at the player’s chair.
Right. Shall I create a slideshow of ATP tennis players on court without a shirt entirely?
“All players can change their shirts while sitting in the player chair,” the USTA state in a statement. “This is not considered a code violation.”
“We regret that a code violation was assessed to Miss Cornet yesterday. We have clarified the policy to ensure this will not happen moving forward. Fortunately, she was only assessed a warning with no further penalty or fine.
The WTA also released a statement, condemning the decision. “The code violation that USTA handed to Alizé Cornet during her first round match at the US Open was unfair and it was not based on a WTA rule, as the WTA has no rule against a change of attire on court.
“The WTA has always been and always will be a pioneer for women and women’s sports. This code violation came under the Grand Slam rules and we are pleased to see the USTA has now changed this policy. Alizé did nothing wrong.”
Source: The Guardian
Image: AAP / Dubreuil Corinne
