Stop the Grunt

I find this article appearing in today’s newspaper is practical and yet amusing: A loud grunt as a ball is served down the court has almost become as part of the Wimbledon fabric. But that could all be about to change as tennis officials are considering a ban on emitting too much noise. Something needs to be done to govern the level of noise on the courts: “There is a need for some sort of regulation.”
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Used to watching badminton games on Television, we see that the players hardly utter any sound when the games are played. However, in tennis, especially the women’s players, every hit is accompanied with a loud scream. That was how I described the action until another runner friend corrected me that the right description is “grunt” or “grunting”.

Unfortunately, my tennis idol, Maria Sharapova, is the Queen of Grunt. As I said before, I got to love what my idol is doing. Here is the statistic:

The Grunters (in decibles)

Lion’s roar = 110
Maria Sharapova = 101
Monica Seles = 93.2

Imagine for every shot when Maria hit, we hear a lion roar in almost similar loudness. That is not easy to get use to. As for Minica Seles, she groans so loud that she is not far from Maria. Imagine for every shot, you would hear Minica Seles emitting a long, low sound just like she is experiencing a strong pain.
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Do you think the players are taught grunting? Well, the coach says: “We have always taught the proper ways to breathe in and out. Players grunt because it helps them release energy and keep focused.” On the other hand, certain opponents complain that the disturbing and distracting sound made them loosing focus, and lost in the games.

Well, if you like to hear players grunt, do enjoy the games before the grunting is being regulated.

click here for all postings on Maria Sharapova (scroll down the pages).

Photos of Maria Sharapova are extracted from the official website.

Written by KC
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Maria Sharapova

I was really excited to watch Maria Sharapova played on television. Due to some strange reasons, when she was at the helm of her tennis career, my television is not equipped to receive the privileged broadcasting. When my TV is ready, the former world No. 1 women’s tennis player sustained shoulder injury and undergoing recovery for almost nine months of no-show.
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After much waiting, I finally got to see my idol in action on 20 May 2009. She is beautiful and graceful with a tall and well-build body. She has a strong upper body with a square shoulder plate, which is unique of a female player.

Before that, Josie, a Pacesetters runner, cautioned me that she screams very loud in court whenever she hits a ball. So I told her that there is no problem as I just mute the TV and that would be a peaceful game. So when I watched her play, oh gosh, she really grunts for every shot that she hit. At times, the grunt really sounded like a fierce tigress. Will she not get sore throat or later coarse voice with hours of grunting? Another unique feature of her beauty is the icy cold stare, which makes her different. Anyway, the Star newspaper has called her the Queen of Scream.

I was told that she informed the court (a few years ago) that she is only 57kg. For a 5 feet 11 inches tall frame, looks like she is a little light weight. One has to be heavier to deliver the powerful shots. For every strong hit, I was a bit worry and hope that she would not sustain further injury. Otherwise, I have to wait for months again to see her play.

As to the loud grunting, never mind, being my idol, I just have to learn to accept and like her grunting. So on 21 May 2009 when she played against Ukraine’s Alona Bondarenko in Warsaw Open, I turned on the volume a bit louder to 'enjoy' her grunt. One has to love what his idol is doing.


In that match against Bondarenko, Maria Sharapova was defeated in the quarterfinal of the event. There were many shots with balls went into the net and many a times, she hits the ball way outside the court. There was no jubilation smile other than the frustration and dejection in her.

The next day, while going out for lunch, I told my lunch kaki’s (members) excitedly that I watched my idol in action on TV – for the first time. I described to them how beautiful she is (about the build, the square and strong shoulder, the gracious movement, etc). Then one lunch kaki commented: "Wah! You can remember so much of her." He continued, "What is the score?" So I said, "36-24-38".


She is playing in the French Open in Paris and I should have more opportunity to watch her play again. The problem is that it is difficult to know the exact timing and I did not get to watch her after been defeated by Bondarenko.

Good luck to the come back kid!

Note: Another woman player who should qualify to be the Queen of Grunt is Victoria Azarenka, as agreed by Josie. In the French Open Women's Quarterfinal against Dinara Safina, both of them were grunting for hitting every ball. But Azarenka's grunt is like running away in fright which is more dramatic in effect. For those that could not stand the grunting sound, go look for the earplugs meant for Formula 1 car races.

Note: photos are extracted from Maria's official website ... click here
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Written by KC