Wimbledon - Wimbledon chief slams grunters

Wed, 22 Jun 08:20:00 2011

The head of Wimbledon has said female tennis players who grunt when they hit their shots are spoiling the game for fans after those of Victoria Azarenka reached 95 decibels on the first day at SW19.

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The Belarusian, known for such noises, also made each shriek last over 1.5 seconds against Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova, irritating spectators.

Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club, said that opponents have the right to complain to the umpire, which may help eradicate grunting.

“The players have an ability to complain about it - if one player is grunting too much and the other player doesn’t like it and it is distracting, they can complain to the umpire,” the former television executive told the Daily Telegraph.

“We are one tournament in a global circuit. But we have made our views clear and we would like to see less of it.”

He added that tennis officials would “prefer to see less grunting” and that the practice was putting off many spectators.

“We have discussed it with the tours and we believe it is helpful to reduce the amount of grunting,” he said.

“I think there is an education problem with younger players. And certainly my postbag, if you say 'what do you get most letters about', I would say that grunting is high up.

“So we are aware, whether you are watching it on TV or here, people don’t particularly like it.”

The loudest 'grunt' on record was one of 105 decibels by Maria Sharapova in 2009.

Fourth seed Azarenka, 21, was mimicked by fans during Monday's match.

“People can do whatever they want but I hope they can respect all the players who grunt, which are about 70 per cent of the whole tour,” she said of the incident.

“I have been doing it since I was 10 years old. I wasn’t really strong and that was what helped me to accelerate more, to put more power to the ball.

“I cannot change it, that’s what helps me to play. I have to keep going with the thing that helps me play.”

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport

Comment 276 - 295 of 295

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  1. I grunt when I masturbate , is that wrong ?

    From Violent torpedo of Truth, on Fri 24 Jun 10:51

  2. Earlier today I heard John Lloyd (I think it was a­ radio broadcast) saying that he hates­ grunting/screeching but that he doesn't see how it­ can be stopped now it's so entrenched in the game.­ I would have to disagree with him. If players were­ fined and/or had points deducted for­ grunting/screeching, then they'd pretty soon stop­ doing it, especially if they started to lose matches­ and earnings as a result. I said it earlier in this­ discussion and I'll say it again,­ grunting/screeching is a form of cheating and should be­ dealt with as exactly that.

    From Taylan, on Thu 23 Jun 23:56

  3. I applaud the officials for finally doing something­ about the grunting. As a tennis player, it is an­ audible hinderance. Why do they need to screech so­ loud? It is such a distraction. If you listen, the­ grunt is AFTER the hit. As a tennis viewer, it gives me­ a headache to hear the screaming grunters. I need to­ turn the volume off or turn off the match completely. I­ don't hear the men screaming. Why do the women feel­ the need to scream? It ruins watching tennis.

    From DC, on Thu 23 Jun 22:05

  4. I, like all men, get extremely turned on by the­ grunting of these women as they seem to climax on every­ stroke. Phwoarrrrrr.

    From LeonE, on Thu 23 Jun 20:22

  5. I briefly watched a women's match on Monday­ afternoon and then fet compelled to turn it off. One of­ them was making such ridiculous noises, not an­ involuntary grunt from maximum effort on a tight pint­ but a deliberate, long drawn out kind of wail with­ every stroke. You have to think about making a noise­ like that , it's not instinctive, so all of them­ who say they can't help it are just making excuses.­ FFS shut up!

    From horleymorley, on Thu 23 Jun 20:19

  6. If you watch the grunters on the practice court then­ you hardly hear a grunt. So why is it neccessary?­ Please umpires, be strong - that will be a first - and­ start deducting points.

    From Joanne, on Thu 23 Jun 17:00

  7. I think the umpire should give the grunters three­ warnings then disqualify them.

    From clem, on Thu 23 Jun 16:59

  8. Its not just the grunts, its the orgasmic cries and­ squeals which are even worse. Have you noticed that­ the best players dont make nearly so much noise. The­ Williams sisters would not have won anything if they­ played without intimidating their opponents with their­ size and noise. Players should have a point awarded­ to their opponents if they make a noise above­ 80db.

    Peedee

    From peedeemck, on Thu 23 Jun 16:53

  9. Agree....I tend to watch "grunting" matches­ with sound turned off. Also find some of­ commentators irritating at times - lots of silly­ remarks and giggling and pre-empting of results (where­ they are often proved wrong!!!!) - the odd amusing­ comment can be fun but a bit more professionalism­ please guys.........................

    From JANET, on Thu 23 Jun 16:46

  10. hit the mute button.simples

    From jontheone, on Thu 23 Jun 16:40

  11. Venus Williams used every dirty trick in the book to­ distract and break her opponent's concentration. ­ she was being outplayed by­ a better player until she racked up the screaming false­ ball tosses and general gamesmanship (cheating­ intimidation) in my opinion yes! cut the decibels now!

    From Greum fionn, on Thu 23 Jun 16:37

  12. Grunting is a form of gamesmanship (gameswomanship) and­ should be stopped. You're not telling me that it is­ involuntary, it's a bad habit. The girl's­ coach/parent should have dealt with it at the onset.­ When watching on tv, I have to turn the sound off which­ rather detracts from the enjoyment. How non-grunting­ opponents deal with it I can't imagine.

    From tony, on Thu 23 Jun 16:33

  13. Laura Robson has an excellent chance to beat Sharapova.­ Complain about her squealing and hope she gets upset­ and walks off the court. However I hear you retort,­ Sharapova could decide to rest her lungs with such an­ easy opponent!

    From Richard H, on Thu 23 Jun 16:28

  14. I no longer watch ladies matches. Monica Seles was one­ of the worst in the past but the Williams sisters seem­ to have taken over. STOP IT LADIES.

    From D T Wells, on Thu 23 Jun 16:27

  15. it's not just grunting, sometimes it's almost­ screaming. It's unnecessary and ridiculous.

    From mikey, on Thu 23 Jun 16:26

  16. Stopped watching Ladies ladies when the grunting­ started, which incidently started as many of them lost­ their shape to muscle and bulk... shame, would be nice­ to watch a more genteel game again.

    From David in Norfolk, on Thu 23 Jun 16:24

  17. What man wouldn't want to grunt with Simona Halep?

    From eurostar.train, on Thu 23 Jun 16:20

  18. If spectators don't like listening to a player­ grunt, don't go to see them. Simple.

    From eurostar.train, on Thu 23 Jun 16:17

  19. The expelling of air (similarly annoying to grunting)­ during boxing matches was banned many, many years­ ago.

    It should be simple to stop by calling a code­ violation & ultimately deducting points.

    I suspect­ the noise spoils the game for the spectator & can­ be off-putting for the opponent.

    These days though, I­ imagine it would be against the grunters human rights­ to ban it. Shame...

    From The Doc, on Thu 23 Jun 16:17

  20. I cannot stand it. Some of them even grunt loudly for a­ simple tap volley.

    I always watch the games with no­ grunters.

    From Karl, on Thu 23 Jun 16:12
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