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Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Belgium's Justine Henin - AP Photo/Rick Stevens
Finally, a tennis great has said what everyone who has suffered through those awful grunting matches between women tennis players thinks: it’s cheating.
Martina Navratilova, arguably the greatest woman tennis player of all with eighteen grand slam singles titles, has told the ITF’s Philippe Chatrier Award dinner that “the grunting has reached an unacceptable level. It is cheating, pure and simple. It is time for something to be done.”
Navratilova made the point that “Roger Federer doesn’t make a noise when he hits the ball – go and listen.”
Grunting started, Navratilova claims, with Monica Seles.
It was done to mask the sound of the ball hitting the racquet. As sound is one of the clues, and an important one, about the velocity of the returned ball, the grunting worked to stop the clue being presented to the opponent.
“I couldn’t hear the ball … I had to say something in the end,” Navratilova told her audience.
Watching the French Open when some of the women are playing has become an unbearable experience. Talk about aural pollution!
Complaints have been made one or two of the players, but the officials have gone to water on the problem.
The rules are clear enough. If the grunting is so obtrusive that it disadvantages the opposing player, then it can be ruled out of play.
I equate the grunting problem with swimming’s refusal to do anything about the hi-tech swim suits which allowed some competitors to have an unfair advantage over those not wearing the suits.
The swimming authorities have finally laid down regulations that allow everyone to swim in the same pool, as it were. It’s time now for the tennis authorities to listen to warnings from one of the greats of the game and stop the grunting now.
Otherwise viewers are going to be turned off watching women’s tennis.
What was once a thing of beauty and elegant power is now turning into a grunting match more in line with behaviour in a zoo than a tennis contest.
Maria Sharapova and all the other grunters – just shut up!