Jump directly to the content. Sign in. All Football. Sport Tennis John Hutchinson. Players on the circuit, to varying levels, exert themselves on the court in more ways than one. And it's not just Sharapova-Belarusian star Victoria Azarenka's serve shriek has been clocked at an ear splitting decibels in the past, louder than a jet flyover from 1, feet.
Certain female players are so notorious for their "level of noise" that fans are now given ear plugs upon entering the stadium. But the thing that many of the complainers miss is that all the noise on court serves a purpose and it's not to be obnoxious. Tennis pros say that when you hit a ball, a good yell allows you to strike with maximal force. The grunt can also serve to mask the sound of the echo of the ball which can give opponents an aural cue of where it's headed.
And, of course, the startling effect of the noise can help psyche out the other player and temporarily throw off their game which is the other main reason people are anti-grunting.
Plus, grunting is perfectly legal under the rules of tennis. This particular criticism of female tennis pros isn't particularly creative or even new. Seles is, in fact, often credited as being the "grunting creator" in women's games. But the anger reached a crescendo in when Michael Stich, a BBC sports commentator, said that all the noise "sounds disgusting, ugly, unsexy! Instead, he added the next day that the only way to stop the animal noises would be to "shoot them.
Heaven forbid that a female athlete not be sexy at all times! But Stich's comments served to highlight not just the irritation over noise, but the sexist problem that has long plagued tennis.
Over the years, much of the sports' analysis has focused on how short and tight the players' skirts are instead of their athleticism. Venus Williams vocalizes an even harsher grunt than Serena and Sharapova, but doesn't grunt after every shot.
This prompts the question: Is the grunt a necessary part of Venus' game? Sharapova has said it is for her own. When you think of tennis grunting, Maria Sharapova's name is probably at the top of the list. Since emerging on the tennis scene 11 years ago, Sharapova's beauty and high-pitched grunting has caught the attention of the sporting world.
Whether you find it annoying or hilarious as they did in Australia , Sharapova has greatly shaped the grunting aspect of the women's game. Victoria Azarenka's grunt can be described as a more high-pitched sound than Sharapova's, which makes it harder on the viewers' ears.
Plus, if you're going to scream after a bad point, you shouldn't be screaming during the point. That's just too much. Just when you thought grunting couldn't be any more obnoxious than Sharapova, Azarenka or Williams, it got worse. The Portuguese teenager skirts the line of common courtesy, not only with her opponents' timing, but the audience as well. If Larcher de Brito is the future of grunting, no wonder the WTA is making necessary arrangements to kill it. Enjoy our content?
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