Both the players in the 2012 Women’s final of the 2012 Australian Open, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, are screamers and grunters, when they strike the tennis ball.
Indeed Azarenka has added a shrieking/whistling add-on to her screaming that gives the obnoxious noise she makes the air-splitting quality (or lack of quality) of a jet taking off.
Let’s be blunt about this. The screaming and grunting of Azarenka and Sharapova (who are the worst offenders among the women’s players) gives a sort of porn movie sound-track to their antics on the tennis court.
This assault on the integrity and ethics of tennis, and the sheer awfulness of the noise the players make with every shot, is why I won’t be watching their final.
I switched on early in the tournament to watch both these players as they started their campaign. But within seconds, in both instances, I was forced to switch off.
Readers of The Roar will know that for the last few years I have written a column sometime during the Australian Open condemning the players who have grunted and screamed their way through their matches, and the supine officials (who seem totally unconcerned about the sensibilities of watching the game in comfort) who have refused to do anything to tone things down.
Last year’s rant was titled, somewhat presciently: ‘Please tell Sharapova to stop her damn screeching!’
The article quoted a journalist complaining that Sharapova was ‘wailing like a banshee virtually every point.’
Her opponent in the match under review was a Frenchwoman Virginie Razzagno who said, I thought rather generously: ‘It was difficult, but I got used to it.’
Razzagno might have got used to it. However, I wasn’t and still am not prepared to go through the agony of even trying to see how much of the screaming/grunting, wailing I could cope with, in time.
I suggested in the article that players should ask the umpire to stop the screaming. One reader (Darwin Stubbie, you know who you are) complained that ‘isn’t this just a rehash of a similar story last year?’
Of course it was. And this article is a rehash of last year’s article, without the old Peter Ustinov ‘wedding night’ joke which Richard Hinds quoted in an article written early in the tournament.
The point about re-hashing the standard Zavos rant about the screaming tennis players is that only by repeating the argument every tournament against this objectionable practice that the mainstream journalists might – finally – pick up on the matter.
And, thankfully, this has happened. Hinds’ article about the women’s final is titled: ‘Bring your earmuffs and let battle of the grunters begin.’
‘How excruciating does this slugfest threaten to be,’ he writes. ‘As a precaution, all leave has been cancelled at the nearby Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital where fans evacuated from the arena with bleeding airs are expected to turn the waiting room into a scene from M*A*S*H.’
Hinds points to the lamentable fact that the officials running the Women’s Tour have virtually refused to do anything about taking effective measures to muffle the worst offenders. They are, apparently, going to try and educate some of the younger players. But nothing has really been done to challenge the pampered starlets: ‘In tennis, the lunatics run the asylum. The result, tomorrow, will be bedlam.’
There is no hope of relief from the officials, or from the players like Sharapova and Azarenka. Some other form of pressure on the players and officials has to be created.
This reaction of the crowd during the Ararenka-Kim Clijsters semi-final is most promising. Some of the crowd began to make a whistling noise when Azarenka was serving and playing her shots. The chair umpire, rather amazingly given the noise the server makes when she plays her shots, called out to the crowd: ‘As a courtesy to the players, please keep the noise down during the play.’
This comment/warning must rank as one of the most bizarre ever made from the chair umpire. It was greet (according to Hinds) ‘with shreiks of laughter and just plain shrieks.’
We should demand that the spectators at the final to maintain their rage against the shrieking by imitating both players during their final. The players refuse to show any courtesy to their opponents, or to spectators as is evident from their continued assault on their ears. So why should the spectators show any courtesy to them?
The rest of us not at the Rod Laver Arena should just refuse to watch the match on television. If enough viewers do this, it will have an effect on the television ratings, which might just be the spur to get some action from officials.
As Anthony Albanese (in his plagiarism of great lines from the movies) might say: ‘We’re as mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it any more!’
danastar
Guest
The sad part about all this is how it is turning women's tennis into a joke...what a shame. Now people will only show up to the matches to join in the mockery of it all....too bad!
Maggie
Guest
You are absolutely right Rugby Diehard.
John Seabrook
Guest
Jamesb, I don't mind the sports edition of the Drum myself. It's relatively 'expert free', and easy to take most of the time. A pinch of salt is needed though when Amanda gives us the low down on how the big Carlton Essendon match might pan out, or for that matter, Francis Leach offering his two bob's worth on how Penrith surely can't trade body blows with Manly. I know it's the national broadcaster, but these two, and some others should really only cover the codes that they follow on an unpaid basis. Ie. That they like, and know something about. Just an observation, The Drum Sports show is OK.
Rugby Diehard
Guest
While I think the grunting is unnecessary, I think I'm with you BA Sports. Anyone notice the grunting by both Djokovic and Nadal. Nadal seems to do a double grunt one when the ball is toward him and another when he strikes the ball. Just saying careful about pointing the finger solely at the girls....
Wooden
Guest
The final was a disgraceful exhibition, and an indictment of the tennis authorities' utter failure to take any action to eradicate this blight on the game. Hindrance of an opponent (which includes making a distracting noise) is a violation of the rules, and the sanction is to replay the point if the noise was accidental, or loss of point if deliberate. As these players scream deliberately, the opponent is entitled to claim the point. I would love to see an opponent simply refuse to return a shot and claim the point. Would the umpire enforce the rules?I think I know who the crowd would support.
B.A Sports
Guest
I can think of two things WAY more annoying when watching the women's tennis than the noise Sharapova and Azarenka make 1. Sam Smith commentry 2. Adds about MKR and some doey actress that nobody knows dying on Home and Away All the hype about the noise has just brought more attention to it and now lots of people focus on it. It doesn't bother me, i don't notice it any more and i am guessing it is the same for many players
Danno1
Guest
Are they shrieking between bites?
dasilva
Guest
I think the reason why people single out the women is because their noise is higher pitch Women’s screams are usually a higher pitch than men’s and so are closer to the frequencies where peoples’ ears are most sensitive. Our hearing is mostly sensitive between 1-4khz with the resonant frequency of approximately 3 khz. It's just so happen that the resonant frequency mostly matches with the frequency of a female or a children screaming (I think you guys can work out the clear evolutionary advantages of that. You can hear sounds within that frequency range at a longer distant). It is possible for guys to reach that frequency but it is a lot more harder. therefore the screaming of a female of the same decibels (volume) would sound louder than a screaming of a male of the same volume because our ears are more sensitive to it. That's why even though I understand why people want to ban screaming. I'm a bit reluctant that it may result in people punishing female tennis players and not the male tennis player. If you are going to penalised players there have to be done by objective measures. There should be decibels measurement where if the player exceeds they get a warning. (I personally would have a 3 strikes policy and then lose a point). Therefore it would be non-discriminatory to female and male players.
DANIEL
Guest
It does seem a little unfair to target the woman constently. The men's matches have been fairly loud. Nadal and Djokovic are the two biggest offenders. Every time he hits the ball Nadal screams the house the down, then finshes by having to pull his undies out of his ass crack repeatably. (I swear he wears a G String) Novak shouts constently after every hit, and then does his little bouncing routine before every serve. The After point carry on is particularly bad in the mens, And the only player not guilty of any of this carry on seem to be Roger Federer
Whites
Guest
I know 2 people who flew down to Melbourne and have tickets to the last 3 nights of the tennis. They refused to attend tonight's match and are currently having dinner on Southbank.
Maggie
Guest
Amanda Shalala made the quite correct comment that the men also do this but because the women's voices are (naturally) higher, people complain about them but not the men. If you want to ban grunting, fine, but the same rules have to apply to the men. Nadal, Djokovic and Ferrer are three offenders who would be amongst those who would have to adjust.
Maggie
Guest
You could not have watched the recent matches of Nadal, Djokovic and Ferrer if you think it is only towards the end of a match that they grunt - and grunt very loudly. It is from the first time they hit the ball and it is on every ball they hit. The men's final tomorrow night will be a very noisy match.
jamesb
Guest
John i actually enjoy the sports edition of The Drum on Friday nights. Amanda Shalala had a problem that people focused too much on the grunting and less on tennis. Generally I agree with her on most things, but not on this occasion. Peter Wilkins and Louise Pleming wanted the grunting to stop. Actually that Sacha guy, whenever he appears, he was seems to be negative most often.
John Seabrook
Guest
Azarenka actually emits a two syllable shriek! Every time. Every excruciating time! Amanda whatshername on ABC's The Drum insists we should all 'just get over it'!!?? In fact the rest of their panel , except for Peter Wilkins, couldn't see a problem with it either! Astonishing! Almost as astonishing as Sacha whatshisname claiming that Cadel Evans' victory in the TdF won't have a positive flow on effect on Australian cycling. Bewildering comment to say the least! I feel sorry for poor old Wilko.
Jonny G
Guest
The grunts from these players come nowhere near the level of Sharapova or or Azarenka. Sharapova's shrieks come very close to exceeding the crowd applause after a winner. The noise from those players tend to occur towards the end of a match when fatigue and pain sets in, hardly every point. As pointed out before, the fact that women's tennis is a far inferior product further emphasises how annoying the grunting is.
Bondy
Guest
Is it just us Australian's that complain or do the French, English and U.S.A tolerate this 'chatrooms and print and so on ", i wonder, different strokes for different folks maybe .
Bondy
Guest
Is it just us Australian's that complain or do the French, English and U.S.A tolerate this ', i wonder different strokes for different folks maybe .
Mick T
Guest
Its plain cheating. I hope the crowd firstly does not turn up, or failing that bring ear muffs and copy the sounds during the point. The players should remember the spectators and viewers pay the bills. As for five sets of womens tennis. They only need to do it in one grand slam as a tester and realise that it would not happen again. Test it at the French Open, or better still the US Open. Most of the stadiums are empty anyway.
soapit
Guest
well john newcombe has this theory so yes, maybe it mainly really matters for the top professionals.
ilikedahoodoogurusingha
Guest
I don't know about hearing the ball come off the racket, but there is a reason for it. It is to cause a moments hesitation in your opponent. As they charge their prey a tiger growls, subconsciously it causes a fraction of a second's hesitation in the prey. I expect the same is true of the human brain.