Nothing Wrong With a Little Grunting

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 16, 2009 2:25 PM CDT

(Newser) – If you’ve been—AUUGGGHHH!!!—watching women’s tennis lately, you’ll have noticed a whole lot of—VVVUUUUHT!!— grunting. “Close your eyes when you watch Wimbledon,” suggests Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated. “You could be forgiven for thinking the remote had inadvertently moved to a pay channel.” Tennis purists hate it, and some players argue that it’s artificial gamesmanship. But Wertheim doesn’t think it’s so bad.

“For years, tennis has tried desperately to debunk the image that it’s not merely a wimpy country club divertissement,” Wertheim argues. “What underscores the strenuous nature of the sport more forcefully than otherwise dignified players—male and female—screeching like train brakes when they hit the ball?” For women especially the grunts make a statement: "I’m a star, and I’ll—NUUUSSHH-EEEHH!—grunt if I want to."

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Russia's Maria Sharapova hits a shot during her women's semi-final tennis match against Na Li of China at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, Saturday June 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Simon Dawson)

Russia's Maria Sharapova hits a shot during her women's quarter-final tennis match against Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, Friday, June 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Simon Dawson)

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The loud grunts of the soft spoken Portuguese tennis player Michelle Larcher de Brito. (NewsWorthyInc)

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Athletes in other sports perform tasks every bit as taxing as striking a tennis ball and still, somehow, manage to refrain from replicating noises one usually associates with a crime scene or a delivery room. - Jon Wertheim

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