Like many people getting ready for work in a hurry, the French -tennis player Alizé Cornet mistakenly put her top on back-to-front.

The 28-year-old quickly realised her error after returning from a 10-minute heat break during a match at the US Open in New York, where players have been -sizzling in temperatures of up to 35 degrees.

Alizé Cornet showed the most dangerous thing in sport is a woman's body Read more

What she didn’t expect was that by walking to the back of the court and swiftly switching the pink-striped top the right way round, briefly flashing a black and red sports bra, tennis would be plunged into a new sexism row.

According to an interpretation of the rules, female players are not allowed to remove their shirts on court, despite the fact their male counterparts do so freely. The chair umpire presiding over the match wasted no time issuing the world No 31 with a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. Cornet’s facial expression suggested she was confused and angered by Christian Rask’s decision but he was unmoved.

The whole episode lasted less than 10 seconds but is another heavy blow to the image of a sport that seems to tie itself in knots when it comes to the treatment of women players.

The timing of the row is uncomfortable for the tennis authorities. It is not even the first time this week that the attire of women players has been in the spotlight. The French Open has just announced new “wardrobe rules” with an effective ban on the “black panther” catsuit Serena -Williams wore at this year’s tournament.

The 36-year-old, who was making a comeback at Roland Garros after her daughter’s birth, wore a tutu on court in New York yesterday in an apparent comment on the French decision.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Male players such as Novak Djokovic were allowed to remove their shirts between games during Tuesday’s heat. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Cornet went on to lose the first-round match against Johanna -Larsson of Sweden 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 but the debate around double standards it has prompted is likely to linger far longer in the collective memory of sport fans.

The Women’s Tennis Association, which runs women’s tennis, eventually ruled the code violation was given in error while the US Tennis Association, in charge of the US Open, expressed “regret” at the decision.

Prominent figures in tennis rushed to highlight an apparent gender divide in how the rules are applied.

Rafael Nadal, the men’s world No 1, has a habit of removing his shirt at the end of every match because he sweated so much and felt that taking it off would prevent him from developing a cold. Novak Djokovic and other male players took their shirts off between games on Tuesday in New York to cool themselves with ice and towels in the sweltering conditions.

The “heat rule” was in effect during Cornet’s match meaning players were allowed to take a break to cool off and rehydrate after the second set, while men could take a break after the third set. It was at this point that she put her shirt back on the wrong way round.

Judy Murray, an outspoken advocate of women in tennis and a former captain of Great Britain’s female Fed Cup team, criticised the decision on Twitter. The US player Bethanie Mattek-Sands called the decision “weak”, while Australia’s Casey Dellacqua said it was “ridiculous”.

The former British player Annabel Croft, covering the tournament for Amazon Prime, said she would have done exactly the same thing as Cornet.

The USTA issued a statement saying it “regrets” that a code violation was given and Cornet would face no further punishment.

Cornet welcomed the US Open’s apology last night – then criticised the president of the French Tennis Federation for banning Williams’ catsuit.

She said she was shocked by how much attention the incident had received and accepted it as simply a mistake by the umpire.

She said: “I was surprised when I just changed T-shirt really quick and he gave me the code violation, I didn’t expect it, and I told him it was pretty weird. I think it’s very fair from them to apologise to me. I really appreciate it.”