Grunting in tennis

In tennis, grunting is a nonverbal vocalization made by some players of the sport, usually when hitting the ball. It has been a source of controversy within the sport; some players of professional tennis have stated that it is a form of cheating when deliberate, whereas others defend grunting as a way to expel energy.

Grunting by males in professional tennis matches has taken place since at least the 1970s, with Jimmy Connors doing so at the 1974 Wimbledon Championships, followed by Andre Agassi in the 1980s. Monica Seles was one of the first professional female players to grunt during her matches, particularly at Wimbledon 1992. Players Michelle Larcher de Brito and Maria Sharapova were known for grunting loudly during their matches, leading to accusations in 2009—particularly from former player Martina Navratilova—that their grunting was being deliberately used to distract opponents.

Examples of other contemporary female tennis players who grunt are Victoria Azarenka, Aryna Sabalenka, Anna Kournikova, and Serena and Venus Williams. Other male players who do so include Rafael Nadal, Gustavo Kuerten, and Carlos Alcaraz. Some players such as Novak Djokovic have reduced their grunting habits as their career has progressed. Of the top 30 professional tennis players of each sex in 2017, 90% of male players and 76% of female players produced tennis grunts during matches.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.