Grunting: Yea or Nay?

Sharapova (high-pitched)
Both Williams sisters, when they really get into it.
Of course, Seles started it.
James Blake does it: "Unh!" (It sounds a little dirty, actually.)
So does Rafa.

It seems like everybody's doing it. And nobody's stopping them.

What do you think?

I do not find it appealing. Sharapova's shrieks bother me the most I think. But how would you stop them? Might be fun to create a sliding scale of penalty points based on volume and general offensiveness. Or invite the crowd to throw fruit at the noisemakers. Or have some selections on the PA system that get played when a player grunts too loud, kinda like the theme music played for baseball relievers, chosen for maximum abuse and embarassment. Choosing those could be fun.

I think it's annoying, but it's a tactic. If you time it right, your opponent cannot hear the ball hitting the strings, which carries information about how the ball is struck. I can see why they do it, but I hate listening to it.

#3 littlegeek - I must be naive because it never occured to me that it might be a strategy. It just sounds gross to me.

Being a serious Roger Federer fan (and of course he's the best of all time!), I love that he doesn't grunt and carry on. Yesterday's Hamburg Final (boo hoo) had him making some noise on the serve, but not on any other points. Rafa, of course, makes lots of noise, but was somewhat low-key yesterday.

My daughter calls Maria "Shriekapova". I almost can't stand watching her matches because of the shrieking. Doesn't her throat hurt after a match? #1 quiet Henin, now replaced by #1 #1 Shriekapova. Ugh.

I've decided squeaky, squealy shoes are far more annoying than grunting! :)

I don't like the grunting/shrieking at all. I do find it interesting that more women do it than men. One (Agnieszka Radwanska, I think) said she had been doing it since she was 10 and hoped people would understand that it was part of her game. I wonder if some coaches get players to do it to control their breathing - return the ball on an out breath and a squeal. Just a thought. Mary Carillo says squealy shoes are a sign of good foot work ... I just discovered this group.

Well, welcome, pmarshall. We're small but active, especially during the GS.

For the record, the grunting doesn't bother me. But I might change my mind if I'm ever in the crowd watching Sharapova on Centre Court with the roof closed.

What harm are they doing anyone? I'd bet that if any of us tried hitting a ball that hard we'd probably grunt too. It's just another way of getting at women for being "unfeminine" when it's really nobody's business but their own. Unlike the perfectly disgusting habit so many of the men have of spitting frequently on the court. I know which I'd rather have happen near me!

Martina Navratilova has come out against grunting. She says that it prevents the receiver from hearing the ball hit the server's strings. She goes as far as calling it cheating and after a warning a point would be deducted.
Wasn't Elena Dementieva great today?

I think Navratilova has a point. The big grunters - Serena & Sharapova, for example, tend to increase the noise level when the match is close. They may say it's down to nerves but it's really gamesmanship - not only does mask the sound of the ball, it's to off put the opponent by emphasising their commitment, power, etc.

The bad news is that the juniors are packed with grunters - they are just copying successful role models.

It seems that the WTA would like to do something about the issue (it's not players who are complaining, it's spectators now) but aren't sure what to do. Once the horse has bolted it's not easy to put it back in the box.

Yeah, I mentioned it in #3 above. And I personally find it annoying, so it's not "hurting anyone" but I just don't like it.

jargoneer, get in the chatroom!

Where is the chatroom?

Go to the Green Dragon group. There's a link from the group home page. You have to "trust" the certificate to get in.

David Letterman asked Serena about grunting last night. Pretty funny, if you go to his website you can watch it.

Funny. She's got a great sense of humor.

She's very pretty, too.

Yes she is, isn't she? I liked her dress too. It was a hoot watching them hit balls into the audience.