Again, issue of coaching during a match raised at Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) - Svetlana Kuznetsova noticed it. Her coach even complained about it during the second set.

But Garbine Muguruza said she was not being coached by her team during Tuesday’s 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal victory at Wimbledon.

“It was pretty clear because we all speak Spanish here. She was talking to her all the time,” Kuznetsova said. “It’s her physio. I mean, I know she acts like this all the time. I don’t think it’s appropriate, but OK, I was focused on my game.”

It’s not the first time coaching during a match has been raised at Wimbledon this year. On Monday, Caroline Garcia said she did not see her father and coach signaling to her during her fourth-round loss to Johanna Konta.

Unlike on the WTA Tour, where coaches are allowed onto the court to speak to players during changeovers, communication is forbidden at Grand Slam tournaments. At the qualifying tournament for the next major, however, the U.S. Open will experiment with letting coaches communicate with their players from the stands between points.

During the match against Muguruza, Kuznetsova’s coach, Hernan Gumy, gestured to the chair umpire midway through the second set to complain about what he was hearing from the opposing box.

Muguruza said it was nothing.

“They were cheering for me, I know. She (Kuznetsova) speaks Spanish. The coach is Spanish. They could perfectly understand everything they were saying,” Muguruza said. “Honestly, they were just cheering for me. I like when my team is behind me. But nothing really tactical or specific.”

Kuznetsova had a run-in with the same chair umpire, Marijana Veljovic, at the All England Club last year. During her third-round victory over Sloane Stephens, Kuznetsova received a code violation for coaching, which was followed by a heated discussion with Veljovic.

“The thing is, the same umpire gave my coach a warning last year for telling me, ’Vamos. Vamos,’” Kuznetsova said. “Then this girl was talking to Garbine during the match. She didn’t say anything to her. (That’s) probably what surprised him a lot.”

Muguruza, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2015, will next face unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova in the semifinals on Thursday. Konta and Venus Williams will play in the other semifinal match.

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