WTA sends mixed signals on players' grunts, shrieks
MELBOURNE - On serve and when whipping his forehand, Novak Djokovic's grunt is that of a bullfrog, "WooooAH-UH".
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning the fourth set tie-break against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their men's singles final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. PHOTO: Vivek Prakash/ Reuters Grunting is part of our sport, full stop. Athletes hitting the ball as hard as they do, they expel, and there are sounds
Rafael Nadal goes for a throatier, "AAArrgggHH". Occasionally, Andy Murray offers up a more hushed, constricted "Eeeeeehhh". From Roger Federer, of course, we tend to get the sound of silence.
Yet here is a selection of headlines you'll never read about tennis's top men: "Earplugs ready, it's the scream queen final," "Shrieks of nature", or "It's squeally not on". I didn't make those up. Oh-so-witty, that is all stuff written about Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova before their women's final at the Australian Open on Saturday.
Anyone else spot the sexist double standards here? The issue, if it really deserves to be called that, of women players disturbing fans and the odd opponent with their shrieks is not new but it's an easy story to rehash and serve up. The Azarenka-Sharapova match was one such moment, because, yes, they both make a fair bit of noise.
The WTA said this week it was "exploring how to reduce excessive grunting". Which is confusing given that just three months ago, WTA 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."
Noise is a very personal issue. To some, Bob Dylan or Yoko Ono singing is music, to others it's torture. If we all agreed on such things then the drone of South Africa's vuvuzela trumpets at the football World Cup of 2010 would have been universally loved or universally recognised.