There are now so many top pro tennis players who grunt, shriek, moan, or scream with every single stroke that the sport's governing bodies are seriously considering imposing warnings and penalties for excessive noise-making during a match. Some have proposed installing on-court dB meters to measure the audio onslaught and taking points or games away from the loudest howlers.
Making an audible noise with every exertion has nothing to do with tennis or any other sport. Yelling as you strike the ball doesn't make you a better player. It's just an affectation, an annoying distraction (possibly intentional), and a bad habit.
Who do we have to thank for all this disagreeable din? Monica Seles, Yugoslav star of the 1990's. She was the first to screech with each swing. Before her, it was unheard of, literally. And I suppose her success made the whooping fashionable, especially among eastern European women players. (Although Novak Djokovic of Serbia expels a noticeable groundstroke grunt.)
The short video features two of today's foremost practioners of noisy tennis, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. Sharapova is in white, serving. Azarenka, in pink, returns. They're both loud as hell, like loons in labor.
Yesterday, in the U.S. Open Women's Final, Azarenka lost a tough 3-setter to the relatively quiet Serena Williams. A triumph of volleying over volume. Hooray.
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