Armchair tennis fans may soon have a means of dulling the grunts of Wimbledon stars, thanks to the development of a noise-reduction device.
Wimbledon NetMix allows listeners to fade out the sound of players grunting on court and turn up the volume of commentators, Britain’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports.
News of the audio alleviating software, available for free download to use with BBC Radioplayer, comes in the same week as Wimbledon officials admitted they would welcome a reduction in on-court groans and growls.
All England Lawn and Tennis Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said groaning was proving annoying for spectators and distracting for opposition players.
Belarussian star Victoria Azarenka, who insists grunting is a natural part of a game, has been recorded wailing at 95 decibels, just 10 decibels short of a 2009 record set by top-ranked Maria Sharapova.
BBC’s technology department has been working on new technology after receiving numerous complaints from the public about the sound balance of sports matches aired on radio.
“Wimbledon was a clear choice to launch this product as there are always so many comments about the amount of grunting from the players,” a BBC spokesman told The Telegraph.
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