US Open officials accused of sexism for punishing French star Alize Cornet who took her shirt off in 90-degree heat because she put it on the wrong way (5 Pics)

A U.S. Open official is coming under fire for punishing French tennis star Alizé Cornet with a code violation after she briefly took her shirt off while on the court.

Cornet, the No. 31 player in the world, and her opponent had just come back onto the court after a mandatory break because of the sweltering heat. As she stood behind the baseline, she realized that she'd put her shirt on backwards. So she stepped close to the back wall, turned away from the cameras, whipped it off, flipped it around and put it back on.

No big deal, right? What's more, Cornet was wearing a black and red sports bra — the kind many women wear to jog or work out.

But the chair umpire, Christian Rask, found the move in violation of the rules and punished Cornet with a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rules say female players aren't allowed to change attire while on the court (male players, though, can and often do).

The WTA says “medically approved clothing changes of female players must be performed off court in the most private location."

The punishment brought swift criticism.

Judy Murray, the mother of former U.S. Open winner Andy Murray, tweeted, “Alizé 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.”

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

Former Australian tennis player Casey Dellacqua responded to Murray's tweet and wrote: "Ridiculous."

Said another critic on Twitter: “Busted for code violation. Alizé Cornet took 10 seconds to turn top right way but Novak Djokovic can sit for minutes half-naked. Same comp. Days after Serena Williams [was] slammed for disrespecting tennis because she wore a #catsuit. Not fair. Not right. Tell your daughters."

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

And another: "It's crazy that a male player can sit naked from the waist up whilst a female player is told that a sports bra (with all the coverage they provide) is a no no."

It's crazy that a male player can sit naked from the waist up whilst a female player is told that a sports bra (with all the coverage they provide) is a no no.

— EILEEN (@LuckyDipster2) August 28, 2018

And yet another: "god forbid that @alizecornet wears a sports bra, at a SPORTING event, and gets a code violation???? Unbelievably sexist considering the men do it all the time. #usopen18 #Unbelievable #Disgrace."

god forbid that @alizecornet wears a sports bra, at a SPORTING event, and gets a code violation???? Unbelievably sexist considering the men do it all the time. #usopen18#Unbelievable #Disgrace pic.twitter.com/BRzowM5CfX

— Snezana Petreski (@nenska1) August 29, 2018

We have a strange feeling this isn't the last we'll hear about this.