The issue of grunting has come into sharp focus on the women’s tour in recent months. With Venus and Serena Williams back at the top of the game, Victoria Azarenka cracking the top 10 and Maria Sharapova returning to the sport after a lengthy injury layoff, grunters are gracing the world’s show courts and television screens more frequently than ever.
When Portuguese teen Michelle Larcher de Brito unleashed her unique brand of “grunting” on players and fans at Roland Garros, it seemed that this was the final straw for many who have been confronted by this growing trend and have decided that enough is enough. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has denounced the practice, and several media outlets have run unforgiving articles about it.
Grunting has reached an unacceptable level. To even call it grunting is unacceptable – the noises emanating from the mouths of several female players more resembles shrieking, howling or screaming. While Sharapova, the Williams sisters, Azarenka and Larcher de Brito are the worst offenders, several other players – including Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic and Elena Dementieva – emit noises that teeter on the brink between exertion and gamesmanship.
There are many reasons why this conduct should be clamped down upon and eradicated from the sport.
It is bad for the sport’s reputation
It seems many fans of the sport have grown tired of watching players scream as they trade shots over the net, with television networks increasingly receiving complaints from irate viewers about noise levels during large tournaments.
It certainly does not reflect well when a sport is annoying its viewers – and possibly turning them away – when its governing body is spending millions of dollars trying to attract people to it. A low point came in the 2005 Wimbledon semifinal match between Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams, during which the two women engaged in such a ridiculous scream fest that the Centre Court crowd dissolved into laughter. The sport has serious problems if its fans are laughing at what is presented before them.
It is completely unnecessary
This point can be automatically backed up by the fact that many of the tour’s “grunters” periodically play without doing so. Watching a match in which a player goes from shrieking on each shot to playing in silence simply proves that the practice is voluntary, and proves that they can still play effectively without making noise. Players including Jelena Jankovic, Amelie Mauresmo, Vera Zvonareva and Caroline Wozniacki all play excellent tennis without making noise, and more men on the ATP Tour play noiseless tennis than those who don’t. There is no reason why the noise-makers cannot follow suit.
It is cheating
Navratilova pointed out that when players emit noise, it covers up the sound of the ball hitting the strings. The nine-time Wimbledon champion said this is a vital aural clue for players to begin determining the spin and speed of the ball before it bounces. Even if the player does not intend it to be, making noise is therefore a form of gamesmanship.
What can be done?
Because this practice has gone on for so long without intervention, the amount of players making noise when they play has grown to epic proportions. The success of Monica Seles, the Williams sisters and Sharapova has encouraged younger players to adopt this practice, and it may now be unfair to penalize players for doing something that went unpenalized earlier.
But because the negatives of noise-making far outweigh the positives, there needs to be a change. The treatment of Larcher de Brito by the crowd in Paris, although harsh, was deserved. Her behaviour (which included vehemently celebrating opponents’ errors in addition to her shrieking) was extremely unsporting, and the fans made their feelings clear. Larcher de Brito lost that match and then significantly toned down her noise levels for her first match at Wimbledon, both signs that the French crowd’s response had resonated with her. Perhaps fans at other tournaments could be more proactive if they wish to eradicate a practice they are becoming increasingly frustrated by.
Larcher de Brito’s opponent in that infamous Roland Garros match, Aravane Rezai, also voiced her displeasure of the Portuguese’s conduct by complaining to the chair umpire. Although many players have reportedly said that grunting is an unfortunate aspect of the game, hardly any have taken a stand against it. Rezai’s actions helped force the issue of noise-making into the spotlight, and now the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is investigating the practice. Players should follow her lead, and the more that complain, the more likely it is that there will be a clamp-down on this conduct.
Umpires also need to show some courage and not be scared to penalize players for hindering their opponent. Umpires readily deliver warnings to players for throwing racquets and verbal abuse, even though these actions do not affect an opponent. Why the hesitance to employ the same processes in the instance of noise-making?
All elements of the tennis world – non-grunting players, fans, umpires, tour officials and the media – must make a conscious effort to effectively eradicate this increasingly common and out-of-control practice.
What are your thoughts? Should there be a crack-down on noise-making, or should players be allowed to perform on court how they like?
Matt Trollope is a journalist from Melbourne, Australia. He has covered the past two Australian Opens for the tournament’s official website.
Should the men also play silently (I mean less grunts on the men’s side)?
I often hear the discussion of grunting framed in terms of the noise women make. Has any empirical conclusion or scientific study been done on the matter of the male v female noise levels? Common sense suggests women tend to have higher pitched voices than men. What if, after a study, it turns out that men grunt just as often as women do but that since women’s voices are higher pitched the sound is louder.
The bottom line is that from the fans perspective many find it irritating. However women make a number of sacrifices for sport. Is asking women to shut up while they play tennis fair or is it an instance of women being targeted because for years they were not afforded the same latitude as male athletes to express themselves in sport. Thus, the public is not accustomed to seeing the raw and aggressive female athlete. Could the problem of *women* grunting have, at it’s core, some connection with the spectator’s perspective of what is/isn’t ladylike?
As far as noise and cheating is concerned I’m really not qualified to say. However, I think the high pitched scream is not appropriate on the serve since the receiving player has only a split second to react.
Of course one could argue “If the audience is expected to be quiet during play then both players should do likewise out of respect for the game and each other.” Limiting noise levels during play (after the serve) I’m not convinced it would result in anything other than selective enforcement (someone will be monitoring noise levels on all the outer courts too? common, we already know the names of the top girls such restrictions would target and you can already imagine how at the least opportune time a disruption occurs as the empire stops play…and the ensuing hissyfit…and then commentators during the rest of the match begin asking “does so-and-so’s play seem more subdued now that she’s muted”… is this preferable to grunting? If you think so, well, honestly I’m not seeing an improvement to the quality of play when the associated consequences of such restrictions are factored in.
Again, I am biased. I get worked up discussing this. I can still see Monica Seles (still my favorite player, Henin is my number 2) approaching the umpire’s chair after unfairly being issued a noise level warning.
As I suggest at the outset, men, it *may* turn out, grunt as much as women but in a lower tone and the public is just more accustomed to hearing the raw aggressive male athlete so the public’s ears find it less grating.
A rule against grunting would be a great shame, because:
(a) Grunting is music to my ears.
(b) A rule against grunting could ruin the performance of certain players if they had to worry about their grunting. Monica Seles was railroaded into playing the Wimbledon 1992 final without grunting, after her two previous opponents complained about it and she was crucified by the British press.
The bottom line is that grunting should be tolerated, and if you don’t like it, wear earplugs.
Actually, on second thought I’m changing my opinion.
Andrew Broad wrote:”(a) Grunting is music to my ears.”
Many, however, do find it grating. I just watched the youtube video of Michelle Larcher de Brito in Paris and I think 2 posts left below the video summed it up best:
“WOW…I heard her four? courts away when I was at Roland Garros. I knew exactly who it was, too. That’s horrendous!”
“We all understand that the grunt tightens up a players body for a more solid hit but after the ball leaves the racket face, there really is no point in the additional noise.”
So, I’ve changed my mind. 1) When a player is making so much noise that they can be heard several courts away then that’s just too much and maybe even disruptive to the other courts.
2)The lingering yell, the drawn out scream long after the ball has been struck so that the player approaching to hit a return shot is still hearing the lingering scream…again this is too much.
anyone unsure about the above comments (points 1&2) should definitely check out the youtube video.
The majority of players who have been asked say that the screaming doesn’t bother them; they say they do not even notice it. We may not like to hear it, but it seems to be part of the culture of contemporary women’s tennis. This, too, shall probably pass.
Unfortunately, a distinction is not made between grunting and screaming. They are two totally different things. I can’t imagine anyone would be bothered by grunting.
I’m tired of hearing about grunting in tennis. It’s part of the game so deal with it. Tennis today is much different than 30 or 40 years ago when wood racquets were used. They hit the ball a lot softer then and they didn’t have to run as hard. With the newer racquets and strings tennis has changed to a fast-paced power game. A lot more effort is involved, that’s why there is grunting. It’s not the players’ fault, it’s technology. There is grunting in other sports, like football, but the crowd is so loud you can’t hear it. Maybe if tennis fans were allowed to make noise during the match we wouldn’t hear the grunting as much. So don’t punish the players. They trained hard their whole lives to become the best tennis players they could be and now we want to punish them because they make noise when they play? Come on! It’s funny that it’s the older, retired players that are complaining and not the current ones. Gisella Dulko said that Maria’s grunting at Wimbledon didn’t bother her at all. Besides, there are so many real problems in the world today, like the economy and people losing their jobs and their homes, that complaining about grunting during a tennis match makes tennis fans and commentators look ridiculous to every body else. Then we wonder why tennis isn’t as popular as other sports. Maybe we should be building up our sport instead of tearing it down by complaining all the time.
Janet wrote:
“I’m tired of hearing about grunting in tennis. It’s part of the game so deal with it.”
Just deal with it? we are discussing it..this is a forum, discussing topics is what people do in forums.
As far as the suggestion that people (tennis fans in general or the people here) should just accept it, well, that’s one view (a view which you freely share).
Janet also wrote: “Maybe we should be building up our sport instead of tearing it down by complaining all the time.”
We?
A number of people contribute to threads giving fair amounts of both praise and criticism therefore, I don’t consider those participating in this thread as “complaining all the time.”
As far as Navratilova’s contribution is concerned she certainly has helped “build up” the success of tennis as a sport, as well as, contributed to societal needs and social causes. Overall she is a contributer, not a complainer.
Is Navratilova’s clear statement of her opinion (which she’s entitled)or the simple exploration of differing viewpoints, here, about on court noise constitute “complaining all the time”?
At the bottom of your paragraph you mention discussing real problems in the world such as “the economy”….this is what you’d prefer in a tennis forum? Forgive me if I’m missing your point. On the other hand if you’re saying that these “real” world problems are what Navratilova should address and speak up on then I think your post could be more direct.
I think if the players are allowed to scream, shout, and grunt during play, the audience should be allowed to do the same. Turnaround is fair play, after all! There is such a big deal made about silence in the stands, and then the players hurt your ears with all their screeching!
If this issue continues to be so ‘hot’, perhaps a few sessions with a hynotherapist would be worth while. Or, some Behavior Modification techniques applied by a trained therapist. Both techniques have been useful for pain management, eating disorders and other ‘behaviors’ which interfere with lives, either the audience or the players lives. Some of the noises have indeed reached the sound levels and pitch which distract from where attention should be focussed, on the action not the person.
Surely if people can stop smoking, overeating, behaving inappropriately or many other habits which are unhealthy or not suiitable to the desired outcome, behavior modification or hynotism are possible solutions which help avoid pointless discussion about who does it, who does it disturb and is it a purposeful behavior or not. Makes it worth worthwhile to pursue this I believe.
I second your editorial completely. As a frequent spectator, at live matches and at televised matches, I find the “screaming” (grunting does not begin to describe the sounds) highly offensive and demeaning to the game of tennis. Where in the world is this headed if not halted soon?
Anythingbutlove, can you provide the link to the Youtube video?
Wow. Really, that is crazy regarding the fact that Michelle Larcher de Brito could be heard 4 court away. Amazing.
And really that noise-making has cross the line which therefore makes it unnecessary. I too believe it has become too much.
For this Janet to plainly say, “…deal with it” is your opinion, yes, but it doesn’t make it right either. This grunting(or something else) has become such a problem and it irritates people. If fans in attendance in another court can hear a tennis player’s noise, whether they recognize the player or not, shouldn’t that indicate that it is a problem?
And this is no complaining. Martina Navratilova is not complaining and she hasn’t been. There is a difference between complaining and offering an opinion. Now if a player on court has repeatedly told an umpire about the noise, because they are bothered, then that is a complaint. And would that still be cast that aside?
Tennis is not being hurt by calling out, discussing this noise-making problem and offering opinions about it. The last thing that tennis, or any sport in general, need is to lose fans.
Not music to everyone ears.
Anythingbutlove, my apologies, but we had to edit your comment that included the link to the YouTube video. Unfortunately, that YouTube video’s comments and title contained language that’s not consistent with OTB’s comment policy, and that were demeaning to Larcher de Brito, who after all is still a sixteen year-old girl.
However, in the interests of this discussion, here is another clip of the now-infamous shrieks during her match against Rezai in Paris.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7uLOa9hqsU
Thanks for your understanding.
I LOVE IT!!!!
The grunting shows that the players are playing with emotion and every ounce of strength they have!!!!!!!
Serena Keep doing it!
Venus keep doing it!!!!
And Elena’s is the best!!!!!!!!!!
Grunting beyond the normal, such as practiced by Nadal and the female players mentioned above
is absolutely detrimental for the sport and has to be checked by the tennis Authorities and ultimately by the Audience.
I don’t watch most female players because of their screams. It borders on insanity.
News readers on TSN Sports made jokes about the practice during the last Wimbledon tourney
and then quickly switched to foot ball. No squealing there.
If women tennis player’s grunting is all the world (in the state that it is in, today) had to concern ourselves about, then, I say, “grunt, blow bubbles, and do a mating dance, if it is going to keep future young girls interested in playing the sport. I did not hear our future female tennis stars complaining, or did I?
anythingbutlove:” Should the men also play silently (I mean less grunts on the men’s side)?
I often hear the discussion of grunting framed in terms of the noise women make. Has any empirical conclusion or scientific study been done on the matter of the male v female noise levels? Common sense suggests women tend to have higher pitched voices than men. What if, after a study, it turns out that men grunt just as often as women do but that since women’s voices are higher pitched the sound is louder….”
To the above poster’s comments, a hearty “here, here (or, should that be “hear, hear?”)”.