Psychologists link higher pitch of grunts to losing matches

Want to know who will win Wimbledon? Then listen carefully to players’ grunts because psychologists believe their groans could point to who will triumph in matches.

A study at the University of Sussex has revealed that players’ grunts had a higher voice pitch during matches they lost than in games they won.

Psychologists also found players displayed differences in their grunt pitch long before the scoreboard made it clear whether they would win or lose.

TV footage of 50 matches involving some of the world’s top 30 tennis players was analysed as part of the study - and grunts were measured during serves, backhand and forehand shots.

The study, published in the journal Animal Behaviour, found the pitch of grunts increased as games progressed - and that the likely result could become clear early on in the match.

Doctoral researcher Jordan Raine, who carried out the study with mammal communication experts Professor David Reby and Dr Kasia Pisanski, said: “This suggests that this shift in pitch is not due to short-term changes in scoreboard dominance.

“But instead, it may reflect longer-term physiological or psychological factors that may manifest even before the match. These factors could include previous encounters, form, world ranking, fatigue and injuries.”

It appeared scientific analysis was also not needed to distinguish the changes.

When tennis players were played clips of other players’ grunts, they identified which of two grunt sequences came from a match the player ended up losing.

Prof Reby, who has also studied voice pitch and sexual attraction in mammals, said: “As with other mammal calls, the acoustic structure of human grunts contains information that may help us to infer contest outcomes.”

One of the earliest prominent grunters was Monica Seles, who consistently drew fire for her shrieks. Since then, the phenomenon has become commonplace on both the men’s and women’s tours. The volume of Maria Sharapova’s and Michelle Larcher de Brito’s grunts has been compared to that of a chainsaw or a lion’s roar.

0 Maria Sharapova’s grunts have been compared to the sound of a chainsaw