Psst. Sveta. It's Called, "Pleading the Fifth".

Or whatever the Australian equivalent of the right against self-incrimination is.  Y'all have that down there, right?  

So someone asked Sveta today about Elena Bychkova's gambling suspension, and her reaction was completely bizarre.  

First, she was surprised, and sounded defensive about Bychkova...

  "'For me, when they told me, I was really surprised,' Kuznetsova said.
   'Myself, I had never heard of the rule that you have to report it. I
   don't know exactly the thing going on with her, and definitely I will ask
   and go deeper into the subject because I think it's very important. If
   people come to me and ask something, I say no - I didn't know I had to
   go [and report the approach]. Maybe she didn't know either, so how can
   we say she is guilty?'"

Then she said she wasn't defending her...

  "'I have no idea if she's guilty, this is what I am saying,'' Kuznetsova said.
   'I don't want to defend her because I don't know the topic.'"

Then, of course, she was asked if she had ever been approached to fix a match and her answer was, erm, less than clearly convincing:

  "'Asked if she'd been approached, Kuznetsova offered a less than emphatic
   denial. 'Well, you know, if I say yes, they are going to send me home,' she
   said."

Ummmmmmmmmmm.  Where's that lawyer Yanina used to get her out of the drug suspension?  Sveta might want her card.

That said, Sveta followed that up with a good point about the athletes needing to understand not just the rule about reporting approaches, but also what actually constitutes an approach:

  "Approaches can be different. You can think it's a joke but maybe
   somebody else thinks it can be for real. You might not get if it's an
   approach or not. Do I have to go and tell WTA every joke I get about
   approach? You never know. I think we just need a better explanation
   about that."

The WTA, of course, of course, claims that the athletes have all the information they need:

  "WTA vice-president Andrew Walker said players had been educated
   about corruption in the sport and the association's zero-tolerance policy
   towards it...

  "'The Tour has a comprehensive program in place that included in-person
   education where the Tennis Integrity Program rules were reviewed,
   including affirmative obligations on players such as the requirement to
   report approaches.'"

This is part of a definite pattern of the WTA claiming that it educates its players perfectly well about the rules when it comes to important matters (Roadmap, match-fixing) and the players clearly exhibiting that they have no idea what's going on.  You'll have to forgive me if-- having grown up in close proximity to powerful sports federations-- I always side with the athletes when it comes to these things.  I've seen governing bodies fail to properly inform athletes of major requirements, then punish them for not acting correctly, one too many times.

That said, Sveta may want to read up on that self-incrimination thing.  It can come in really handy.