|
|
Post by maarts on Jun 23, 2005 0:09:49 GMT -5
Just thought I'd give this a dig, with Wimbledon now in full swing....
Anyone believe that players like Maria Sharapova should can the grunts they utter on the courts? Just asking on the back of this:
Curb the big noises at Wimbledon: umpire
June 23, 2005 - 9:24AM
Wimbledon referee Alan Mills has had enough of noise pollution - he wants to crack down on grunting tennis players.
Defending women's champion Maria Sharapova was recorded by a tabloid newspaper's unofficial "gruntometer" at 101.2 decibels on Centre Court on Tuesday.
The noise, almost as loud as a police siren, was said to have broken her previous record.
"It is something I would like to see stopped," Mills told Reuters.
But the big noises of tennis are unrepentant.
After the Sun newspaper labelled the Russian teenager Bawl-Breaker, Sharapova was asked at her first post-match press conference if she felt she was being particularly loud.
"You always ask me the same questions," she said. "I don't pay any attention to that and I never have and I never probably will."
A defiant Serena Williams, whose first-round match with compatriot Angela Haynes featured much noise from both sides, said: "I am going to carry on grunting. It's not my business to control what people think."
Mills, who retires this summer after more than two decades in charge at the tournament, said the two single biggest complaints the All England Club gets in letters from Wimbledon spectators were about players grunting and spitting.
Notices about spitting have been put up in four languages in the Wimbledon locker rooms and Mills said they were having some effects.
"I think the message is getting through," Mills added. "But the grunting has got progressively worse over the years. I would really like it curbed. I am sure coaches can play their part."
So how can the grunters be toned down at Wimbledon?
"Opponents have to complain first for the chair umpire to do something. We have to monitor the situation carefully," Mills said.
© 2005 AAP
|
|
|
|
Post by mellie on Jun 23, 2005 0:22:04 GMT -5
I dont know much about tennis, but I DID read today that she was wearing shoes with GOLD encrusted on them. Kinda nuts if you ask me. but hey, I guess if youve got the dough, you have the right to have gold put on your shoes. HAHA!!!
I will let you get on with an actual discussion about soccer now, just had to say hey quick before i went to bed. Talk to you soon! Hope all is well with you!!
|
|
|
|
Post by maarts on Jun 23, 2005 0:35:08 GMT -5
Yeah I'm good! hope next time you won't be a hit and run-poster!
As far as the shoes- I did see them. Talk about taking the Kournikova to a new level, though the Williams-sisters weren't adverse to take a bit of gold onto the courts themselves.
Glam is back, as all those thin young things from the Eastern Bloc show us.
And they can play! Bugger, I'm amazed at some of the force they put behind those backhands!
|
|
|
|
Post by Meursault on Jun 23, 2005 9:11:47 GMT -5
They could learn to breath like normal people, and channel that screaming energy into their game. Don't hear men out there having orgasms.
|
|
|
|
Post by maarts on Jun 23, 2005 9:27:41 GMT -5
Grunting has been in the game for some time...Connors had it when he served. But the ladies have come far since Seles 'ah-IIIIiied' her way around the court.
|
|
|
|
Post by mellie on Jun 23, 2005 9:30:48 GMT -5
Maybe they are just displaying sexual frustration??? haha.
sorry I was hit and run, I had to go to sleep, and after I posted that you were already gone anyways!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by maarts on Jun 23, 2005 9:39:50 GMT -5
Gabrielle Sabatini did the same thing and she wouldn't have any trouble getting over her sexual frustration......man, I had a crush on her!
But none would have the lungpower to emit 'The sound of a police siren'. It's 'de rigeur' now to push out air, shriek and hit the ball....imagine soccerplayers doing the same- Beckham would shred the net if he shrieked before taking a freekick.
|
|
|
|
Post by chrisfan on Jun 23, 2005 9:46:17 GMT -5
I heard the other day - and it made complete sense to me - that they use the grunts to cover up the sound of hitting hte ball, so the opponet does not know what kind of spin is coming back. It makes sense to me. I don't play at any where near the level that these women are, and I use the sound of the hit to determine how the ball will bounce back to me. From that standpoint, the grunts would certainly be strategic, and I can understand their using them.
|
|
|
|
Post by maarts on Jun 23, 2005 9:55:10 GMT -5
That's indeed how one of the Aussie commentators described the tactic- your opponent can't hear the sound of the ball coming off the racket which can determine what particular kind of stroke the opponent's playing and allows you to decide a bit quicker for the next shot to be played. I just wonder though how offputting the noise is for players? I hear a lot of tennisplayers describe how they cannot hear a rowdy audience during a point so somewhere someone would be able to suppress the noise for themselves.
But I also wonder why there aren't any players complaining about Sharapova's shrieks? If strategically she shrieks to cover up the noise, why not try to get her off her game and object to her making the noise in the first place? Maria does tend to get annoyed pretty quickly, so if you want to increase your chances on victory....
|
|
|
|
Post by chrisfan on Jun 23, 2005 10:43:45 GMT -5
If thre are not official rules about shrieking though, then there's nothing to base a complaint on. It's not like complaining about bad ball calls - there are specific rules about when a bounce is good and when it's out. And i would assume that after an opponet gets used to it, the shriek becomes part of their rhythm in the match as well. When I"m playing indoors, it drives me nuts if a noise like air conditioning starts up in the middle of a match, changing my ability to hear the ball bouncing. The bounce and other noises get you into the rhythm of your strokes very quickly.
|
|
|
|
Post by mellie on Jun 23, 2005 10:51:01 GMT -5
I just cant get into tennis. Dunno, it never struck me as exciting. To me, its kinda like watching golf on TV. Probably more exciting if your actually watching or playing it though.
|
|
|
|
Post by RocDoc on Jun 28, 2005 12:50:51 GMT -5
Like golf?
Man, do I ever disagree on that comparison...especially to THAT sport. Ptoo!
To me, the enthusiasm for golf HAS to be due to some sort of a mass hypnosis...how else has this huuge group of diehards been convinced that it's so doggone cool to hit this little ball into a hole in the ground with 200 dollar sticks...and then walk and walk and walk and do it again??
Tennis has major action fergawshsakes!
Movement, acrobatics, grace and at times brute force...
I useta spend Sunday afternoons glued to the tennis matches that regular old broadcast TV would carry years ago....then I'd go out and play the game with friends.
Mellie, have you ever played?
|
|
|
|
Post by maarts on Jun 28, 2005 18:58:59 GMT -5
I think Mellie's active in too many sports- with those two rugrats of her  Williams vs Pierce probably was the best women's match I'd seen this tournament. You talk about Sharapova's grunt being bad, Williams gives her a run for her money too. I'd advise the people going to that semi-final to bring a Walkman. Can't see Federer lose. Can't see Davenport win either. |
|
|
|
Post by mellie on Jun 29, 2005 10:10:24 GMT -5
Golf... its fine to play, not that I play WELL, but watching it on TV is just snooze city. And I think the issue that I have with watching tennis is its just too darn quiet. I like the loud exciting sports!! played tennis a bit in high school my freshman year, but gave it up. I give you props for being able to watch it really!!
|
|
|
|
Post by ScottsyII on Jun 29, 2005 18:17:04 GMT -5
I found some of the those tightrope walk games that Lleyton Hewitt played in the Australian open quite interesting, but they were pretty tight games... sometimes the little ball going back and forth and back and forth just kinda makes me feel hypnotic...hahahahaha... I'm with Mellie though, I love the loud, rougher sports!
The two most boring sports to weatch HAVE to be Test Cricket (one day matches are an acceptable viewing) and Golf... I've never understood how anyone could excited or be entertained by Golf on TV. The game itself is a game of skill, patience and accuracy... a real challenge to play! But to watch.... what a snooze!
|
|
