Finally, an End to Grunting?

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Finally, an End to Grunting?

By Blair Henley

Photo Credit: Getty Images

(June 27, 2012) -- During my first trip to the U.S. Open qualifying rounds a couple of years ago, a quick scan of the schedule had me speed walking to Court 10. Michelle Larcher de Brito was playing a Belarusian unknown, but I wasn’t headed her way to see the tennis. No, I wanted to experience Larcher de Brito’s other claim to fame: her call-the-cops, someone-must-be-dying shriek upon striking the tennis ball.

I had seen YouTube clips of her positively inhuman screeching, but I was thrilled at the thought of seeing it firsthand. As I approached her court, I giddily put my camera in video mode, ready to record the action. But as I took my seat, I heard only the sound of the ball hitting the players’ strings. No otherworldly outcries. No impassioned shrieking. And then I looked at the score. Larcher de Brito was winning easily.

Match play sound effects have been a source of controversy recently, irking players and fans alike, but apparently they aren’t necessary during a 6-0, 6-0 beat down. It’s just another example confirming Caroline Wozniacki’s allegation last year that for some players, grunting is intentional and case specific.

“If you grunt really loudly, your opponent cannot hear how you hit the ball,” Wozniacki said at the WTA Championships in October. “Because the grunt is so loud, you think the ball is coming fast and suddenly the ball just goes slowly. In tight moments, maybe the grunt helps them with getting less nervous.”

Who doesn’t grunt? “Silent” Sam Stosur. Her coach, David Taylor, says he “hates” the cacophonous caterwauling that plagues women’s tour events. And after a round table meeting at Roland Garros with the International Tennis Federation and representatives from the four majors, the WTA is green-lighting a comprehensive plan to shut down today’s all too common grunt-a-thons.

"It's time for us to drive excessive grunting out of the game for future generations," said WTA CEO Stacey Allaster.

The initiative includes development of a decibel-reading handheld device that will be used to make a ruling on unacceptable noise levels. They also plan to educate players in large tennis academies and lower-tier professional events.

The godmother of female grunting, Monica Seles, took the tennis world by storm in the early 90’s. She didn’t have the grace of Steffi Graf or Gabriella Sabbatini, but she positively crushed the ball, letting out a distinctive two-syllable grunt in the process. Ah – EEE! Ah-EEE! At the time she was a novelty, but each generation since has produced more and more Seles sound-alikes.

Maria Sharapova is the current leader of the pack with a paradoxical dainty prance/barbarian shriek combo that has convinced me she could dance Swan Lake while simultaneously ripping her opponent’s head off. She even headlined The Telegraph’s list of the top 10 grunters in women’s tennis. Registering at 101 decibels, her shriek is comparable to a chainsaw or, my personal favorite, a pneumatic drill.

Many players insist they don’t notice or simply don’t care about what their opponents do on the other side of the court, but in the end, their opinions are inconsequential. The WTA Tour is only as successful as the fans make it, and an increasing number of them seem to think excessive grunting should go the way of the wooden racket.

Given that the anti-grunting initiative won’t be applied to the current generation of players (Can you imagine Serena Williams getting a point penalty for grunting?), Stacey Allaster can only hope up-and-coming junior players take note of the shift in public opinion and start a new trend.

“You cannot stop people from doing what they do on the court,” said another notorious grunter, Victoria Azarenka, in response to the controversy. “You’re not trying to distract anybody. It’s just normal. For me, I do it during the practice, [and] during the matches. If some people do it only during the matches to distract, maybe it’s bothering. But I do it all the time. It’s just a part of me, a part of who I am.”

Talk of implementing a rule against excessive grunting leads to inevitable claims of sexism. Yes, men grunt too, but as Allaster put it, “…female DNA transmits [the grunt] in a different way.”

Translation: a man’s grunt brings to mind less tortured animal and more masculine warrior. The sooner we can be honest about that unfortunate fact, the greater the chance for change.

In short, grunting is no longer quirky or cool, and in many cases, it’s avoidable (I’m talking to you, Michelle Larcher de Brito). Fans may get a rules change for their viewing pleasure, but if players are smart, they’ll tone it down in the interest of the people who ultimately pay their bills.