Tennis screechers upping their game
I AGREE with Linda Verrall (Letters) that ‘Wimbledon screechers’ are a turn-off. All tennis tournaments are being equally spoiled by them.
At a recent Wimbledon qualification match, we had to endure one player bawling at the top of her voice ‘Uh-her!’ and the opponent responding at equal volume ‘Ah-he!’ every time they hit the ball. ‘Uh-her!’ ‘Ah-he!’ ‘Uh-her!’ ‘Ahhe!’ ‘Uh-her!’ ‘Ah-he!’ . . . I began to fear all games with rallies! At Eastbourne, there was a player who kept shouting what sounded like ‘Rich!’ every time she served. This aural torture obviously hinders viewers’ enjoyment.
In TV coverage, as it would be impossible to separate the sound of racket hitting ball from player emitting screech, might we be allowed a commentary-only option? Ideally, though, such behaviour would simply be nipped in the bud. Encourage coaches to stamp it out early, or allow umpires to penalise players for any childish attempts to show off to the crowd or volubly put off their opponents.
If it were really necessary for players to make such noises, they would all do it. But screeching and grunting have crept in unchecked over the past ten
or 15 years. Thank goodness for those who, like Roger Federer, just imagine shouting in their head if they feel it helps them.
MARK SAUNDERS,
Lake, Isle of Wight.
IT’S TRUE that noises such as grunting during tennis games can be irritating, but we should remember that it is natural for humans to let out such sounds when exerting the type of effort players do during a match. Anecdotally and scientifically, grunting has been proved to take a tennis player’s game to the next level, as it helps with their timing and
promotes focus and concentration. Male and female players don’t grunt with equal frequency and vigour — women are often louder and more abrasive — but so what if they are? It would be unfair and quite ridiculous to demand that half of all such athletes should suddenly relearn their breathing techniques just to avoid annoying spectators.
True tennis fans can handle any player emitting their barbaric yawps at Wimbledon. Surely most of us must be used to it by now.