Stop the grunts! - Yelling in women's tennis hard to take

By Sebastian Fest Jan 25, 2012, 16:12 GMT

Melbourne - The Australian Open title and the new world number one that is set to emerge Monday are minor issues: the debate in women's tennis is rather focusing on the grunts of some of its stars.

The yelling is so excessive that, for the first time, there is talk of educating players so they hold it back.

'I put my TV on mute and I could still hear Sharapova,' Brendan Fevola, a former Australian Rules footballer, joked on Twitter.

'You wouldn't want to be in the hotel room next to Maria Sharapova on her wedding night! The bloody noise would drive you mad!' wrote veteran Australian sports commentator Glenn Mitchell.

Maria Sharapova, who is just one step away from the Australian Open final and from being back to the top of the WTA rankings, does not like the debate.

When told Wednesday that Pole Agnieszka Radwanska had complained about her yelling and that of Belarussian Victoria Azarenka (another number one contender), Sharapova was not amused.

'Isn't she back in Poland already?' she asked, to highlight the fact that world number 8 Radwanska was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Melbourne.

And Sharapova will not hear of rule changes to tone down the yelling in tennis, saying 'right now there is no rule change. I don't hear that there will be one.'

But change could well be on its way, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) told dpa Wednesday.

The WTA admitted that it might seek to reduce excessive yelling, particularly among young players.

Sharapova is right regarding at least one thing: she is unlikely to be forced to change, even if during the Australian Open she came close to 100 decibels, just 10 per cent less than the noisiest stands at a tournament that is far from Wimbledon's strict etiquette.

The grunts that female players make when they hit the ball are not present in the men's tour.

Many WTA players argue that they help add strength to their play, but there are doubts about that. And some observers point an accusing finger at the famous coach Nick Bolletieri, because many of the loudest yellers, including Monica Seles, came from his academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Dane Caroline Wozniacki and Belgian Kim Clijsters made fun of the grunting during an exhibition in the past, and the truth is that it harms the reputation of the WTA tour.

Australian daily The Age noted Wednesday that the issue is out of control, and it put forward a theory regarding its origins.

'The earsplitting shriek was secretly encouraged by the WTA Tour marketing department, which hoped to keep spectators awake during early-round matches,' The Age said.