Grunting and Time Violations

sstchur said:
This is a load of crap. Tennis players are a bunch of babies. Ever been to a football or baseball game? Those players don't complain about being distracted and it's crazy loud.

Not only should you be allowed to grunt, but the fans in the stands should be allow to talk and shout and carry on as much as they like while the points are going on.

If you're a pro tennis player, you're an athlete -- you've got to deal with the conditions. Forget this crap that you "need silence" so you can "concentrate" while you're player. Screw that. Toughen up. Deal with it, or go home.
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Tennis is not equal to baseball, football (American), or football (non-American). For your specific examples, there is a whole lot of space between the players and the spectators. Also, the above is a group sport of lots of people involved. You need to hear the sound of the serve, sound of how it bounces, etc. Why don't you compare it to golf? Why do you not compare it to bowling? Bowling and golf are primarily single-person sports. Obviously there are exceptions to these examples as well in sports, but the bottom line is tennis is tennis and is not some other sport.
 
It's an interesting question about how quality of play would be affected if the players couldn't hear the ball due to crowd noise.

After thinking about it my gut says that after an adjustment period the quality of play would not be affected very much if at all. It might be fun to try with a friend, plug up the ears and see how it goes.

Although having said I think I prefer that crowds are quiet during points.
 
T. H. Park said:
Tennis is not equal to baseball, football (American), or football (non-American). For your specific examples, there is a whole lot of space between the players and the spectators. Also, the above is a group sport of lots of people involved. You need to hear the sound of the serve, sound of how it bounces, etc. Why don't you compare it to golf? Why do you not compare it to bowling? Bowling and golf are primarily single-person sports. Obviously there are exceptions to these examples as well in sports, but the bottom line is tennis is tennis and is not some other sport.
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WHAAA! Deal with it. It's not cheating. There are no rules in place demanding that the players (or anyone else) remain silent (that's only tradition).

Bunch of crying babies!

(And for the record, I am not a grunter or screamer or anything of the sort, but I don't get all worked up if my opponent is -- I deal with it).
 
bolo said:
It's an interesting question about how quality of play would be affected if the players couldn't hear the ball due to crowd noise.

After thinking about it my gut says that after an adjustment period the quality of play would not be affected very much if at all. It might be fun to try with a friend, plug up the ears and see how it goes.

Although having said I think I prefer that crowds are quiet during points.
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Quality of play would absolutely be affected - trying playing outdoor near a road versus playing indoor.

Would it be by enough to matter? Probably not.
 
bolo said:
what if you couldn't hear anything at all? no sound, what do you think?
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For sure - that's going to significantly affect play quality, no question. I play mostly on synthetic, and I know some people who hate the fact that it absorbs sound instead of reflecting it like hardcourts do.

Then again, this is the time of technology, i'm sure we could combat crowd noise on court with *some method* if it ever became deafening....
 
sstchur said:
WHAAA! Deal with it. It's not cheating. There are no rules in place demanding that the players (or anyone else) remain silent (that's only tradition).

Bunch of crying babies!

(And for the record, I am not a grunter or screamer or anything of the sort, but I don't get all worked up if my opponent is -- I deal with it).
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Great response, really. Well done. Such maturity, it's wonderful to see we have a discussion going. It's really nice to see that you are not addressing my point. I am saying that tennis is not the same as the sports you mention and you come with the above response? Wonderful.
 
There was an interesting interview with Connors back in the day and he mentioned that he loved it when the crowd got noisy when he served. The reason was not that he could not concentrate - I think he is the master of shutting out noise, but he said that when there was so much noise the opponent could not hear what sort of spin/ball type he was hitting which worked in his favor. Does anyone remember that interview/article?
 
Just as a sidenote, on the ATP, the chair umpires are not allowed to say "Quiet Please." It is part of the fan friendly policy that they adopted several years ago. If the crowd is going on for TOO long, then a "please," or "Thank you" or "Players are ready" is ok, but you won't hear quiet please at ATP events. Grand Slams it is ok though.
 
Interesting article. I did not know that Sharapova was THAT loud (TV can be misleading). It's ridiculous. She says that "... she has been grunting since the age of four and cannot help it." Totally ridiculous. It's obvious that she is exaggerating if not flat out lying. People like her, including Seles negatively set a bad model for younger players - like that Portuguese player (she actually told the umpire that if Sharapova can do it she can too, or something like that: she is right).

FYI:
90 - 95dB: sustained exposure can cause hearing damage
110 dB: power saw around 3' away

Hopefully we will have more attention given to those who delay the game as well!

vtmike said:
Interesting article,

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article6493899.ece

How the grunters compare, in decibels

Lion’s roar 110 (Sharapova's getting there... :D)

Maria Sharapova 101

Monica Seles 93.2

Serena Williams 88.9

Lindsay Davenport 88

Venus Williams 85

Victoria Azarenka 83.5

Elena Bovina 81

Anna Kournikova 78.5

Kim Clijsters 75

Elena Dementieva 73
Click to expand...
 
CCNM said:
Monica was louder than Serena???? OK. Didn't watch Kim but am a little disappointed.
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70s dB is not that bad actually. Maybe a bit loud but if you consider conversation to be around 60-70 dB, and dog barking around 75 dB, it's not too bad. Anything above 80s seems to be questionable (for humans).

Also, it's the way it is done. If one sustains the sound for a long period, that can obviously cause problems for the opponent and mask the sound of the ball somewhat. Sharapova has this long decaying shout/scream (can't really call it a grunt) and Serena screams like she is in a heavy metal band ... enuf said
 
T. H. Park said:
70s dB is not that bad actually. Maybe a bit loud but if you consider conversation to be around 60-70 dB, and dog barking around 75 dB, it's not too bad. Anything above 80s seems to be questionable (for humans).

Also, it's the way it is done. If one sustains the sound for a long period, that can obviously cause problems for the opponent and mask the sound of the ball somewhat. Sharapova has this long decaying shout/scream (can't really call it a grunt) and Serena screams like she is in a heavy metal band ... enuf said
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I wouldn't be surprised if De Brito's shrieks are higher than a Lions roar!! :shocked:
 
CCNM said:
Monica was louder than Serena???? OK. Didn't watch Kim but am a little disappointed.
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I had the same reaction, I can't believe Monica was louder than Serena! However I have no problem believing Sharapova is the loudest, she literally shrieks during the whole rally, scary...
 
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