Quiet Please!

[Kieran]

Serena's grunts are strategic, we know this. She bellows like a falling tree when she wants her puny opponent to realise, you're about to face some anger issues!

....:lolz:...I am sure Serena is enjoying sunkissed sweet grapes....she leaves sour grapes to the likes of Jankovic,Sloane,pova and Na li...:snigger

Oh, she wins matches alright, but that's not the topic at hand.

Or...did you think it was? :s

 

[tented]

Serena s grunts are effort based unlike Vika,pova,Schiavone and many others...

If Serena's grunts are effort based, then so are Vika's, Sharapova's, Schiavone's, etc. Don't try to pretend Serena does this in a unique way. We've all seen them play. We all know better.

..these days she hardly grunts...Vika and pova grunt all the time whether they are winning or losing...lots of players grunt,Vesnina s grunt is something else and another grunter that no one talks about is Kirilenko just grunts like pova...have you heard Alison Riske s grunt or Jie Zhengs grunt...just as bad.

No one is trying to single out Serena as the only grunter, so there's absolutely no need to make a list of others who also do so, as if to prove Serena isn't the only one. No one talks about Kirilenko, Riske, etc. because they're not famous, whereas Williams, Sharapova, and Azarenka are. Also, as the article in the OP cites, the decibel level of those three are the three loudest, thus lending even more credence to their being named.

Serena s grunts are effort based unlike Vika,pova,Schiavone and many others...

If Serena's grunts are effort based, then so are Vika's, Sharapova's, Schiavone's, etc. Don't try to pretend Serena does this in a unique way. We've all seen them play. We all know better.

No....Serena only does it when She is in a knock down

toe to toe battle and is putting out maximum effort to

hit the ball. The Pova, Vika, etal do it all the time on

every shot. And it is unique as an effort grunt and not the

high pitched squeal of the other two.

Watch the first video I linked to above. Serena and Azarenka are grunting loudly every time they hit the ball, including Serena as she's serving. Also, note the score. Hardly a moment which could be described as a "knock down toe to toe battle."

Here's another example. The first minute is footage from the first game of the second set. Again -- not a time when she's locked in a knock down toe to toe battle.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWa1wMMChPk[/video]

Look, this is very simple: Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Francesca Schiavone, etc., etc. all grunt, frequently and loudly, and this is what the WTA is (theoretically) addressing. There is no justification for trying to pretend Serena is exempt from this group, as is also the case with each of the others.

 

[tossip]

Thank goodness the season is over...the players are now on vacation and everything else is secondary...ooowe..this season was sweeeeet oh so sweeet....still on a sugar high..

 

[tented]

Thank goodness the season is over...the players are now on vacation and everything else is secondary...ooowe..this season was sweeeeet oh so sweeet....still on a sugar high..

The ne plus ultra of non sequiturs.

 

[tossip]

Thank goodness the season is over...the players are now on vacation and everything else is secondary...ooowe..this season was sweeeeet oh so sweeet....still on a sugar high..

The ne plus ultra of non sequiturs.

..a little latin here and there will not spoil the soup.. papi.:wave

 

[tented]

Thank goodness the season is over...the players are now on vacation and everything else is secondary...ooowe..this season was sweeeeet oh so sweeet....still on a sugar high..

The ne plus ultra of non sequiturs.

..a little latin here and there will not spoil the soup.. papi.:wave

You're simply being too stubborn to admit I'm right, hence the non sequitur.

 

[ozza]

This is just hot air. Nothing will happen with this generation at least.

Grunting doesn't bother me in the slightest but I do find this list they have laughable. I presume when BusinessInsider presented the 10 loudest grunters in women's tennis that they only tested the top 10 players with that list.

 

[ozza]

Like I said this article does not involve Serena Williams. I do not even know why her name is even mentioned. Years ago one could say that, but not now.

This is something I take an issue with when people like to pick on grunting. If anything what Serena does is worse. Least with Azarenka and Sharapova it's always there, it's constant. Serena basically only uses it as pure intimidation, she only does it on big points, in other words it's a lot more strategic.

Grunting for me is something that doesn't really affect me. I find when I watch tennis I don't actually notice it until someone brings it to my attention, subconsciously I tune it out.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

This is just hot air. Nothing will happen with this generation at least.
....

WTA is pretending they are doing something about this for NEXT generation.

 

[my sherona]

serena has the most annoying grunts compared to Maria's heavenly grunting.

 

[MashaFan]

Wishful thinking!
There are no valid reasons for the WTA to invest lotsa $$ in expensive devices or to do something about grunting - shrieking or screaming on court as long as their most popular tennis players and main public magnets also are the most notorious shriekers - That would not be very logical

I recently re-watched the semifinal of the French Open 2013 between Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka - and the stadium was pretty packed in spite of the fact that - according to all the whiners - both players also were the loudest shriekers - The commentators repeatedly complained that they never have heard Maria to be so noisy but the French public - the most cheeky - critical and outspoken tennis public in the world - didn't seem to mind - They loved the fight instead and they showed no sign of irritation what so ever

It's also significant that the loudest skrieker according the "experts" also is the most popular female tennis player in the world to judge by the number of "likes" on her Facebook page and the best payed female athlete on the planet according to Forbes - I can't imagine that these brands which Maria endorses would sign up for her if she was hated - had a bad reputation or in general criticized because of her shrieks

As for the players themselves - of the hundreds of WTA tennis players only a handful have complained publicly - These WTA players have their own players "union" but we've never heard or read that this body has brought forward serious complains about the shrieking issue - Also - as far as I know none of the significant retired Maria Sharapova opponents - like Kim Clijsters or Justine Henin - have after retirement criticized Maria Sharapova's shrieks or any other female tennis skrieker for that matter

I also want to point out that it would be difficult for an umpire to penalize a public favorite - for example for making her lose a point - because one of her shriek was to loud at some point according to some device - In that case every spectator should have such a device and not only the umpire - Would the public else accept a judgment from the umpire if they themselves can not verify the transgression? - Complainers never ponder about these issues - Besides - I assume that the umpire has enough on his/her plate to oversee the match and doesn't need additional and completely unnecessary duties added to his/her burden

So far the critics of shrieking have not been able to present any good reasons why shriek should be banished but their own discomfort - They are in my opinion only a little but very loud minority - They often are elderly people who wanna hold on to tradition - that is when tennis was a "gentlemen" sport and women weren't taken seriously as sport persons - It's significant that the majority of professional complainers are elder men and that male tennis players who grunt and shriek as much as their female counterparts never become their targets

My advise to shriek complainers is to suck it up - go with the flow- accept changes in the sport instead of being backward - If you're a TV watcher - use the remote control or don't watch matches which annoy you

 

[Si Si Simona]

Maria's heavenly grunting

ok, I am hijacking the board, I need to slow down the posts :shy:

 

[MashaFan]

ok, I am hijacking the board, I need to slow down the posts :shy:

*confuzzled*

 

[Moxie]

ok, I am hijacking the board, I need to slow down the posts :shy:

*confuzzled*

I'm as "confuzzled" as you are, MashaFan. Why slow it down? It's a reasonable discussion. (And no one has the right to "hijack" the board.)

I'm with those that don't mind the shrieking/grunting, except when it impedes a player hearing the ball landing, i.e., a "late-noise" impediment. That players use an exhalation of breath noisily as part of effort seems reasonable to me. If you're watching at home, turn the volume down. Watching a match in person, it has never bothered me.

I also do find it a little bit misogynistic that the women get the 'brunt of the anti-grunt.' Women's voices are pitched higher, and that's why their grunting is often characterized as "shrieking." There is no similar universal complaint on the men's side, and plenty of men do 'grunt.' (Though I will say, women should learn to 'grunt' from lower in their diaphragms, and therefore, sonic registers. It's not only less-irritating, I believe it is more effective, physiologically, and more psychologically authoritative, as well.)

 

[Si Si Simona]

ok, I am hijacking the board, I need to slow down the posts :shy:

*confuzzled*

I'm as "confuzzled" as you are, MashaFan. Why slow it down? It's a reasonable discussion. (And no one has the right to "hijack" the board.)

I was talking about my own number of posts on all threads. For a moment it looked like I hijacked the forum. :blush:
And my smilie was about "heavenly grunting" which sounded a funny expression to me
As for the subject, my opinion is that "a grunt is a grunt" which means that I have no opinion

 

[Si Si Simona]

ok, I am hijacking the board, I need to slow down the posts :shy:

*confuzzled*

Hi, what I meant was this:
"ok, it looks like I have hijacked the board by posting so many posts, I need to slow down the posts rate" :blush: