Serve That Ace but Grunt Not, My Lady

Navratilova says grunting is a ploy to distract rivals. Maria Sharapova and Michelle Larcher de Brito are the current flagbearers of the grunting tradition.

“Quiet please,” tennis umpires often say to the crowds. They need to tell that to players. Especially, the women.

Monica Seles introduced intense grunting to tennis. Maria Sharapova and Michelle Larcher de Brito are the current flagbearers of this tradition. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic grunt as well. But it is not ladylike to shriek, which is why the women are picked on. The sounds that emanate from their gullets as they swat a tennis ball evoke everything from the jungle to the ladies compartment of a Mumbai local to the conjugal bed. During the Seles reign, the late tennis player and fashion designer Ted Tinling said that he pitied her neighbours on her wedding night. Sharapova and De Brito have registered sounds of over 100 decibels. At the French Open, Aravane Rezai complained about De Brito’s war cries to the umpire.

Many, including Martina Navratilova, have said that grunting is unnecessary and is a ploy to distract an opponent. But Nick Bollettieri, the famous coach, feels it can energise a player. Luke Jensen, the former doubles star and now a coach, says that grunting can help a nervous student loosen up.
Perhaps, the grunts are not going to go away for a while. Wimbledon will be all about strawberries and screams.

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