Chris Evert says that the noise level in women's tennis, specifically the "grunting" is out of hand.

[ccharles000]

SYDNEY -- Tennis great Chris Evert has joined the chorus of complaints about the noise level in women's tennis, saying the "grunting" was getting out of hand.

Evert stopped short of joining former rival Martina Navratilova in labelling the practice as cheating, but agreed it had reached unacceptable levels.

"Grunting is one thing but the shrill sound that you hear with players nowadays, and especially they get louder when they hit a winner, that's the thing that I observe as a player," the former world No. 1 told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

"It comes before they hit the shot. That's the first thing you hear and you are kind of like thrown off guard as a player and then before you know the ball gets past you."

Evert is visiting Sydney with her husband Greg Norman, who announced he would play in the Australian Open golf championship for the next three years.

"It is distracting when you are hearing this and I think the grunts are getting louder and more shrill now with the current players," she said.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=4293867

:puke:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Agreed -

it's embarrassing. The men don't make any noises, and they play fine games. The women doing this are cheating, really, trying to get an advantage.

I quit watching women's tennis because of it..............

[joeybee12]

2. Agreed...and we can trace it to Nick Bollateri..he gets 'em young and

teaches them to grunt...it's not a natural thing to do.

[Forkboy]

I don't know who that guy is, so I assume he doesn't play hockey?

:hide:

[joeybee12]

7. Infidel! Traitor!

He's brought up a lot of the big ones...Seles, Agassi are probably his most famous...has a famous training facility in Florida...but you knew that, didn't you?

[Forkboy]

10. Actually, no.

I told you I didn't know tennis very well. That's the game where they hit the birdie over the net isn't it? :D

[joeybee12]

11. Oh boy do i want a net and a birdie right now!

The things I would do!!! :mad:

[cherokeeprogressive]

12. I'm reporting you to PETA. n/t

[tishaLA]

16. Not just Nick

If it were just Nick, we'd have nobody to blame on the Williams sisters' screaming. And I don't recall Capriatti grunting that loudly....Seles, Screamapova, yes.

It really makes me hate some of the players.

[joeybee12]

28. Nick's also got that Portugese girl who grunts the loudest of all...

...I think he started it.

[merh]

57. Actually, many sports teach the participants to let out a cry or a grunt

In some martial arts students are taught to use the “kiai” or "spirit cry". The sound is to come from deep in your abdomen and is usually expressed during the maximum point of attack. When you first begin, as you are learning the movements and how to focus your energy, the students will just yell "kiai", but over time they develop their own sound as they increase their skills and as they focus their energies. "Kiai" translated means "yell". The kiai is used at the moment when the martial artist's maximum physical, mental and or spiritual power is required in combination with a specific movement or technique. It is a focusing mechanism - the alignment of the physical (the body), the mental intent (the focus), and the breathing to perform the task to the best of one's abilities.

Yes, it is an intimidating factor, but it is also a mind, body, spirit effort - a component used in focusing an athlete's energy as they perform a needed skill or technique.

[Blue-Jay]

3. I don't remember the Williams sisters doing too much screeching.

They just kick everyone's ass.

[tishaLA]

20. They're among the worst

[Blue-Jay]

40. They grunt. They don't scream. There's a difference.

I like to watch women's tennis on occasion, but I always turn the volume down.

[tishaLA]

46. Nah, they scream

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gs6WTJExYg&feature=related

The link is to a scream off between Screamapova and Venus

[MadBadger]

47. They both scream

[BlooInBloo]

4. Clearly she's an evil sexist.

[xchrom]

5. i don't get the grunting thing in womens tennis at all -- BUT --

if it's not against the rules -- then?

it's obnoxious but that is about it.

[marmar]

6. Agreed. Of all the things to be concerned about......

n/t

[Demit]

13. Social opprobrium can be effective at altering obnoxious behavior.

I'm glad Chrissy Evert spoke out. She wasn't making the argument that the noises were against the rules; she was pointing out that they were distracting & unnecessary. Maybe the grunters & shriekers will be shamed into changing the tactic. I can still remember how unpleasant it was to watch a Monica Seles match.

[tigereye]

17. it is pretty cool when the quiet ones beat the loud ones, though

Henin-Hardin was pretty controlled I thought, and she used to wipe the court with people without shrieking.

[tishaLA]

they really need to make a rule about it though

some players have been warned--one at the French Open this year, for example--but they need to apply it evenly. It's often unsportsmanlike and i's always obnoxious.

[Captain Hilts]

49. Baseball pitchers cannot wear jewelry or anything that would distract batters.

The grunting is very distracting for their opponents.

[Arkana]

8. I always assumed it was an intimidation thing.

[cherokeeprogressive]

9. Jealousy rears it's ugly green head.

I honestly can't say I don't blame them though, tennis players nowadays make beaucoup more money than Chris and Martina ever did.

On the other hand, the game is about the ball, not about the noise. I've played baseball in crowded arenas and when you're concentrating, the crowd noise isn't an issue. It's not like they're wearing mirrors on their wristbands meant to distract their opponent.

Personally, I think the grunts signify the fact that these new, young tennis players are trying harder than their predecessors ever did.

It's like my dad, who has never made eagle in his life, thinking Tiger Woods is disrespecting the game for pumping his fist after putting for one. I putted for eagle while playing with him once (my dad, not Tiger...), and when I missed the putt, he danced on the green, screwing it up with his spikes. Go figure.

Strange observation: Tennis players grunt when they HIT the ball, not when they hit a passing shot. Chris Evert says "they get louder when they hit a winner". Doesn't that mean they put all their ummmph into it as they were striking the ball?

[tigereye]

19. I do think some of them do it to focus their energy...

you could argue that it is passion...

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. I think not so much passion, but effort.

I know I've grunted when swinging my Big Bertha driver.

[tigereye]

27. maybe it's both!

:D

[cherokeeprogressive]

29. Most Certainly a "could be". n/t

[TorchTheWitch]

36. No, it's not when striking the ball

"It comes before they hit the shot. That's the first thing you hear and you are kind of like thrown off guard as a player and then before you know the ball gets past you."

The noise is before the shot, so it's not and explosion of breath from the effort. Its intent is to be distracting, it is distracting, and I see that as cheating. If wearing white instead of colored clothing is a distraction rule than inappropriate unnecessary noisemaking should be as well.

Tennis isn't baseball, where unsportsmanlike noisemaking and other behaviors intending to distract are permissible or hockey where plowing into competitors is permissible. I'd hate to see tennis become a sport where it's permissible for a competitor to plow into their opponent to keep them from the ball or racket-check them.

[joeybee12]

58. Let's see- Chris and Martina - the two GREATEST players EVER are jealous?

The ones who made millions, are still idolized by fans, and when they played the women's game reached the peak of popularity (and has gone downhill since) are jealous?

Yeah, you know lots about tennis buddy.

[tigereye]

14. yes, I agree, although you could argue that that is simply the intensity of

some players.


Sharapova is pretty loud, and so are the Williams sisters once they are in the hunt. But then again, Monica Seles was pretty vocal, too.

[DURHAM D]

15. Chris is right -

this is cheating and goes to one coach.

I used to play competitive tennis and I never heard a sound on the court except when I missed a shot and cursed myself under my breath.

[pleah]

18. I don't watch tennis because the "grunting" is very annoying. n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. I smoke a fatty, mute the sound, and put on some good rock and roll.

After that, it seems like poetry in motion, just like basketball.

[pleah]

25. Well that certainly is one way to solve the problem.

:toast:

[MrSlayer]

21. If the grunting helps you win, go for it.

Tough shit if it bothers the other player, games and sports are all about intimidation and getting an edge. Wear earplugs or something if it bothers you that much.

[Codeine]

38. Tennis isn't supposed to work that way.

That's why there are rules regarding appropriate colors and so on. It's a sport that values good sportsmanship.

[Mojambo]

24. It's just about the only thing I like about tennis. n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

26. To agree with this notion, one would also have to agree that yesterday's soccer final

was won by the Brazilians because of the incessant horn blowing.

Hey Batter! Hey Batter Batter! Hey Batter, SWING!

Anyone who hasn't heard that hasn't attended a Little League baseball game, a Pony League baseball game, a High School baseball game, a College World Series game, or a Major League baseball game.

Concentrate on the ball, not the noise. My Dad lives in Nampa, Idaho, and HATES the Boise State Bronco football team because they play on a BLUE field. To him, that constitutes an unfair advantage.

Whafuck?

[Captain Hilts]

30. Agreed. nt

[ecstatic]

31. hehe. I "grunt" sometimes when playing tennis on the Wii

:shrug:

[donco6]

50. Me too!

And I'm damn good. :)

[Obamanaut]

32. Ooh, a plan for redistribution of wins because the losers are not

being treated fairly.

Grunting and shrill sounds bother you? Earplugs. Or grunt in return.

[cherokeeprogressive]

33. To quote the cartoon character whose life I seem to live...

Good Grief.

To quote one of my favorite race car drivers: "Ya run what ya brung".

It's like golfers complaining that the rough is too deep. It's like NASCAR drivers saying the "Car of Tomorrow" is too hard to drive.

Learn. Adapt. Win.

[Lancer]

34. Here's the one everyone's talking about, Michelle Larcher De Brito

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLFUGX083DI

This kind of screaming isn't the same as crowd noise. It's the loudest, highest pitched sound in a relatively confined space, and it's intentional, learned behavior. She doesn't do this when she plays doubles, and she wasn't doing it as a singles player until she broke into the Top 100 in the world last year. Her game is good enough without her having to scream for attention, but the cry of the banshee is about all anyone knows her for at the moment.

[Lars39]

35. That's horrible.

I stood it for three screams. I'd hate to be in the crowd.

[omega minimo]

37. "He shouts in a war winner"

That's the translation of the video title. When had anyone or any athlete made a noise like that in physical exertion? That's involuntary? :wow:

[cherokeeprogressive]

39. If I could prove that she was doing it to cover the sound of the ball coming off of her racket

I'd say her opponents have a gripe. PROVE that she's covering that sound. Even if she was, I'd concentrate on separating the sound of her voice from sound of the ball coming off of her racket. It's called the "cocktail party effect". You hear what you need to hear, and learn to separate the rest.

Otherwise? Learn. Adapt. Overcome.

It's about the ball, not about the noise.

[Lancer]

43. Well, she screams when she needs to scream.

Doubles matches? ::::::::crickets::::::::::
Singles matches before she got on the Tour? ::::::::crickets::::::::::

[TorchTheWitch]

48. Sorry, I don't agree

Tennis is one of precious few sports left that adheres to sportsmanlike behavior... winning honorably with skill not winning at any technically within the rules price. Intentionally distracting the opponent in tennis is frowned upon which is why they have crowd silence and no wearing of colored clothing. If the crowd is expected to be silent so as not to distract the players it goes without saying that the players themselves adhere to that same courtesy.

The sport will decide whether or not to adhere to its tradition of sportsmanlike behavior or allow it to become a varitable free-for-all like most others, and I thankfully don't see it "adapting" to plowing into oppontents, racket-checking them, or loudly cursing them and insulting their ancestry in the future.

[islandmkl]

54. it is NOT just about the ball...anyone who plays competetive tennis knows that the sounds..

the ball makes reflect the characteristics of the shots...these players aren't just batting balls back and forth...

to not hear the ball off the racket removes an essential element of the ability to prepare to return the shot...

the grunts are after the hit, from the effort...the shrieks are BEFORE the hit to mask the sound of the hit...

it is a bullshit tactic that is counter to the rules of competition in tennis, and will probably soon be addressed as such...

the 'cocktail party effect' is a nice theory...try to apply it with something high-volume blocking the sounds you are trying to hear while some tennis ball is about to rocket toward you at 100 OR 130 mph....

[Fire1]

42. Thanks for the link. That broad is nuts!!! n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

44. WOW!!!! That's crazy!!!

nt

[donco6]

51. OK, now that's not grunting . . .

That's just freaky.

[spoony]

53. Wow, lol. And it's such a LONG sound

She's barely ended one "shot dove" cry by the time the ball comes back to her and then she begins again. Just wow.

[travelingtypist]

41. I have to watch tennis with the sound off.

I can't stand this. Monica Seles was the first high-ranking player I ever heard do this and I thought it was nauseating. The first time I heard Rafael Nadal play and heard him do this after thinking for so long how much I liked him -- I don't have a TV and somebody told me about tennis-channel.com -- I was very disappointed.

[miyazaki]

45. the only thing i got from this was that she's married to Greg Norman.

I thought she was a lesbian.

[slampoet]

52. They are trying to cover up the sound of the ball against the racket. It IS cheating.

[paulsby]

55. monica seles grunts louder

when she hits the ball, than she did when she was stabbed.

[cherokeeprogressive]

56. Ban horns from soccer stadiums. Buncha babies.

[Javaman]

59. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!

sorry, just hitting some tennis balls.