Serve-GRUNT-forehand return-MOAN-groundstroke-YELP-backhand-SQUEAL-volley-SCREAM-drop shot … 0-15.
Sitting on centre court at the French Open this week, I realised I was listening to tennis rather than watching it.
There have been the grunters like Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova who have annoyed their opponents by accompanying their lethal deliveries with distracting guttural sound effects … but Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito took things to a whole new level. Decibel level, that is.
She later told reporters that the noise was simply part of the shot and that her game would not be complete without it (in the end, it didn’t seem to help her as she lost). When her opponent complained to the umpire that it was all very disturbing, Larcher de Brito pointed out that there was no rule against The Grunt.
Raising the question: Isn’t it time there was?
She quashed the suggestion that grunting was on the Nick Bollettieri curriculum but there can be no denying that the Florida tennis academy boasts a number of alumni with first-class qualifications in Art of the Grunt - Sharapova, Seles, Nicole Vaidisova.
How is it that their male counterparts can get on with hitting the ball hard without the need to add a soundtrack? Yes, Rafael Nadal is guilty of the odd grunt but it usually happens on a key point or during extreme exertion, rather than on 15-0 in the first game. Roger Federer maintains a dignified silence at all times.
“Quiet please,” the umpires urge raucous fans at Wimbledon. Shouldn’t this also apply to the players? Points deductions or fines would soon shut them up.
PHOTO: Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal plays a shot during her match against Aravane Rezai of France at the French Open, May 29, 2009. REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel
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7 comments so far
Nadal grunts in keypoints?? He grunts all the time like almost every Spaniard in the game. Rememer Kuerten and Muster? They both grunted. Djokovic? he grunts too. Seems to me that grunting is only an issue when it involves the womens game. Aravane Rezai is really a hyprocite because she grunts too. Should you really complain when an opponent just grunts louder than you do? Maybe she was intimidated by the fact she couldn\’t hear herself. Seles paved the way long before these teenagers entered the game. If grunting is a part of your game just stick with it!!
- Posted by guyTry silence Maria, Vika, Serena and Venus. Why Michelle.
- Posted by FelicianoWhit or whitout grunts Michelle is the future tennis big star.
We are not the players. They are. They should be allowed to grunt all they want. Don’t like the grunt? Don’t watch tennis. “Grunting” has an equivalent physiological and psychological impact to that of martial arts. Want a grunt-free game? Go watch bowling.
- Posted by Joetold you she was taught to grunt.
http://blog.wimbledon.org/2009/06/04/434 /#more-434
- Posted by julienGrunting is a part and parcel of the game! To have a rule to prevent it make no sense at all! I agree with Joe 100%
- Posted by bharathI am tired of hearing the grunting. For a while the women’s tennis game was more interesting to watch. Now I cann’t stand to see/listen to their game. If enough tennis fans decide not to watch women’s tennis because of the grunting then the rule will be changed.
- Posted by PawalskiGrunting should be banned immediatly. It is a total affectation. I have been in rooms where babies have been born and women have made less noise than these Prima Donnas hitting a tennis ball. It is NOT part of the game and is totally un-necessary. Here’s the thing. First grunt: a warning. Second grunt: Red card and goodbye. That would put a stop to this nonsense by tea-time on the first Monday.
- Posted by Loco Manyana