Screaming tennis players are a distraction for opponents and the current crop of female stars have taken the problem to new levels, US legend Chris Evert said yesterday.
Victoria Azarenka and teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito have been at the center of fevered debate at this year’s Wimbledon about the decibel levels during matches.
Now the International Tennis Federation is believed to be considering outlawing such distractions as “noise hindrance” under its code of conduct.
Nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova believes the “scream queens” are gaining an unfair advantage and Evert agrees with her.
Evert, winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, said a particular concern was that the noise from grunters often appeared to increase on key shots.
“Grunting is one thing, but the shrill sound that you hear with players nowadays, and especially [when] they get louder when they hit a winner, that’s the thing that I observe as a player,” Evert said. “It comes before they hit the shot. That’s the first thing you hear and you are thrown off guard as a player, and then before you know [it] the ball gets past you.”
“Really, the next time you watch say Maria Sharapova, the grunting is consistent, but all of a sudden when she has a set up, she has a winner, the grunting gets louder,” Evert said.
Evert said tennis went through a similar problem with former world No. 1 Monica Seles in the 1990s, but now it is more widespread.
“Because Monica Seles is such a lovely girl, we didn’t want to rub it in too much,” Evert said. “But it is distracting when you are hearing this and I think the grunts are getting louder and more shrill now with the current players.”
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
As sporting celebrations go, it does not quite have the charm of Roger Milla’s hip-wiggling shimmy with a corner flag at the 1990 World Cup or the imperious swagger of Usain Bolt’s iconic lightning pose. However, a dance move inspired by US president-elect Donald Trump’s stilted on-stage boogieing has rapidly become the celebration of choice across the US sporting world. From the blood-soaked UFC to the hard-hitting NFL and the reliably decorous world of the LPGA Tour, athletes across North America have succumbed to the viral Trump dance craze in the past week. On Monday, US soccer star Christian Pulisic became the latest
RSS