Coco Gauff’s Team Slammed Again as Opponent Accuses Them of Mind Games: “Screaming in My Ear”
Mutua Madrid Open 2026 - Day 7 Coco Gauff of the United States appears exhausted after defeating Sorana Cirstea of Romania during their Women s Singles match on Day Seven of the Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Magica on April 26, 2026, in Madrid, Spain. Madrid Madrid Spain PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRA Copyright: xMiguelxReisx originalFilename:reis-notitle260426_npkVS. jpg ©IMAGO/NurPhoto We’ve seen Elena Rybakina’s box turn matches into theatre; fiery, relentless, almost louder than her own ice-cold composure.
Even at the Indian Wells Open, she snapped, “Leave me alone,” as Stefano Vukov animatedly pushed her during the clash with Jessica Pegula, intent clear: ignite belief. But that same sideline firestorm turned toxic at the Madrid Open , when Sorana Cirstea accused Coco Gauff ’s camp of crossing the line into coaching. With the match locked at one set apiece, tension snapped tight across the Madrid clay as everything pointed toward a brutal final-set showdown.
Sorana Cirstea marched to the chair, her frustration no longer containable. She confronted chair umpire Kader Nouni, igniting a controversy that would overshadow the battle itself. “Her coach is screaming from that end, ‘Come on, aggressive, let’s go, do this all game long, come on, forehand, backhand, first serve’, this is coaching!
” she protested. She didn’t stop there. “Because I’m there and they are bothering me because they are screaming in my ear.
” Nouni remained unmoved in the eye of the storm. “For me, I do not hear any coaching,” he replied. Cirstea walked away, shoulders tight, disbelief written across her face.
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