The Grunting Debate
I’m going to wade into this grunting
debate which frankly is a boring topic, detracting from the real important
issue of appreciating the tennis being played. Pre-Australian Open, Federer
himself put it well when he said that tennis players are working hard so
grunting is par for the course. Venus good humouredly said tennis players grunt
that’s what they do. If you are a tennis player you grunt. However, grunting
once again became a controversial issue when the Australian crowd started
picking on Aryna Sabalenka’s grunting during her 1st round match
against the Australian player, Ashleigh Barty1.
Firstly, it’s never OK for a
crowd to pick on a player and be nasty to them. The umpire did make
announcements to calm the spectators down but that’s clearly not enough as a procedure
in itself. The spectators carried on and became worse, taking the rise out of
Sabalenka’s grunting noises as she was trying to serve. At that point, I think
the match should have been stopped until they cease being disruptive and
bullying the player. It must have been very difficult for Sabalenka to cope
with that emotionally, never mind the distraction factor which must have put
her off her rhythm and focus. We spend ages thinking up new rules for the
players but how about rules for spectators! The shot clock was introduced at
the Australian Open to limit the time taken before serving to just 25 seconds. Yet
the disruptive behaviour of the crowd meant Sabalenka had to pause and re-group
before continuing to serve despite this new rule. My sympathy is with Sabalenka
and I’m pleased that Barty showed she is a good sportswoman by disapproving of
the crowd behaviour during the match as well as being gracious about Sabalenka
in her post-match interview. Well done, Barty!
Do I grunt when I play tennis? Of
course I do. Not as loudly or as prolonged as many players eg Sabalenka and
Sharapova, but maybe I should have done so in my matches. I grunted less in my
matches than I do on the practice court and perhaps that was a mistake. Maybe I
might have won my matches and become number 1 in the world! I wish! Joking
aside, Monica Seles, in her autobiography (which I read as soon as it came out)
says very much the same thing. Considered the first woman grunter in the game,
she lost her only opportunity to win Wimbledon because she was trying to please
the crowd and media by not grunting, after she’d been given a hard time over
it. In retrospect, she realises it wasn’t worth trying to please the critics,
she should have stuck to pleasing herself by fulfilling her dream of winning
The Championships2. This is true of life in general, not just tennis
life.
Secondly, there are good
physiological reasons for grunting in tennis (and other sports which have
similar physical demands). Studies have shown that grunting helps to increase
the speed of your shots without exerting more energy or wasting oxygen, by
improving how you engage your core and trunk3.
Grunting also increases core stability
in general (through engaging your back and abdomen) and regulates breathing. It
helps to release much needed adrenaline which boosts heart rate and blood flow.
This has a positive effect both physically and psychologically on the player.
Further benefits include releasing tension which not only increases power but
may prevent injuries and strains4.
I can definitely relate to these
research findings on grunting. I was too tense and self-conscious in my matches
because I was new to the tour and not grunting enough exacerbated the silence of
the match court, made me more aware of my opponent and what she was and wasn’t
doing. I was reacting to how my opponent was dealing with my game rather than
focusing on just playing my best. It made it harder for me to find a rhythm because
I wasn’t replicating my style of game I’d prepared in practice. I also could
have done with the adrenaline release because when your opponent is winning, it
is hard to get back into the match and stay positive about your efforts, what
you are doing right and staying pumped up irrespective of whether you’ve won or
lost the point.
So I find it particularly
unpleasant that people continue to go on about players grunting. It should be
seen as bullying and harassment. There are plenty of good reasons for grunting.
Both men and women grunt yet women are almost always the target of nasty criticism
over it. It’s time we closed the book on it and got on with the tennis, which
is what the genuine sports fans should be there for and supporting. Individual
differences between players’ approaches and games should not be used as an
excuse to disrupt matches and upset players. Barty would have equally been distracted
by the crowd, given that she obviously noticed and reacted to what they were
doing. So the spectators weren’t helping her either. Ironically, they were more
off-putting than Sabalenka was with her grunting.
So, I’m off to practise my
grunting! Maybe spectators and amateur players should not make assumptions
about professional athletes and their motives behind grunting when there aren’t
any. Perhaps they should go and practise grunting themselves and discover the physiological
and psychological benefits for themselves.
Comments
Post a Comment