Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova to raise decibel level in Aussie women’s final

What’s that noise? Either Bigfoot is close by, or it’s the women’s singles championship of the Australian Open. That’s when the controversy over ladies grunting usually reaches its, um, crescendo, and this year is no exception. There are apes in Borneo who will be covering their ears when Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova face off in the women’s final on Saturday, because both of these gals make noise when they hit the ball. And I mean a lot of noise.

FAN ONE: “This sure is a good match!”

FAN TWO: “WHAT DID YOU SAY?”

FAN ONE: “THIS IS A GOOD MATCH!”

FAN TWO: “YOU NEED TO SCRATCH?”

FAN THREE: “My car alarm just went off!”

About three years ago the World Tennis Association discussed cracking down on all the grunting and shrieking in tennis — which, let’s face it, occurs on the women’s side much more frequently than with the men. But the investigation soon died of neglect. Associated Press:

Just three months ago, the WTA’s CEO, Stacey Allaster, said: “Grunting is part of our sport, full stop. Athletes hitting the ball as hard as they do, they expel, and there are sounds. Guys do it, women do it, been doing it for a long time.”

However, two weeks ago the WTA issued this notice:

The WTA also is partly to blame for this hoary old chestnut again becoming a topic of discussion. It played to the gallery with a statement this week saying it is “exploring how to reduce excessive grunting, especially for younger players just starting out” and is “aware that some fans find it bothersome.”

Some players do as well. As we learned at Off the Bench in 2010, grunting can actually give a player a technical advantage in a big match, according to researchers.

The noise accompanying a hard shot makes an opponent slower to respond and more likely to misjudge exactly where the ball is going — so it is tougher to hit it back, said Canadian and American researchers.

“Conservatively, our findings suggest that a tennis ball traveling 50 miles per hour could appear 24 inches 2 feet closer to the opponent than it actually is,” said Scott Sinnett, an assistant at the University of Hawaii.

It’s a contentious issue. AP again:

Some, when asked, do complain. Agnieszka Radwanska did so this week about Sharapova, calling her noise “pretty annoying and it’s just too loud” – which was somewhat uncalled-for given that the Pole didn’t actually play against the Russian in Melbourne. Radwanska did play Azarenka, losing in three sets, but said she’s grown accustomed to her hoots having known her for years – proof, again, of how tolerance to noise is a personal thing.

Sharapova returned Radwanska’s swipe with interest – “Isn’t she back in Poland already?” she said – and made clear she’s not about to gag herself.

“No one important enough has told me to change or do something different,” she said.

It’s kind of amazing to me that, as fussy as pro tennis tends to be, there aren’t rules against excessive noisemaking already in place. As for me, I love the grunting: I think it adds to the sport. What I don’t like is all the moaning to officials between games. Here’s Sharapova:

And this one always makes me laugh.

***
Stop shrieking about women’s tennis noise [NBCSports]

Azarenka, Sharapova into Australian Open final [NBCSports]