Anyone for tennis?

So once more the annual gruntfest is over and the fair weather amateurs can cast away their tennis rackets for another year. Pleased for Serena Williams and Novak Djokavic and delighted to see Roger Federer playing so well, but on the day you could only say that Novak deserved his win. A victory of efficiency over elegance.

What I find particularly interesting about Federer is the way that his game has evolved as he has aged. The improvements to his serve and his willingness to come to the net more in order to shorten the rallies have not only enhanced his chances of a further major trophy but made the game more watchable. To be landing 80% of your first serves in court, as he did against Andy Murray, is an incredible level of consistency. 

Personally I have found the quality of the tennis in both the women’s and men’s events have been exceptionally high this year. It has surprised me that there have been so many gritty performances, particularly in the women’s game, and not just from ladies with the stature of a Williams or Kvitova. Some of the more petite players thumping down serves at 100 mph plus, making returns and actually placing the ball is a welcome sign of progress.

Maria Sharapova remains an enigma to me, in comparison to others her game is a powder puff yet her mental strength is phenomenal. Her serve has never been great, even before the shoulder surgery, and she lacks the power of some of the up and coming players but her resolve to fight for every point continues to get her out of the bleakest of scenarios. 

Once again the question of ‘the grunt’ has been raised again. Much has been made of the noise level and frequency of the Sharapova / Azarenka / Nadal grunting and there would appear to be a split in the camp as to its acceptability.

I did read somewhere that young players are taught to grunt in their early years as it helps them to exhale when they make a shot. I can understand why that may be the case but is it strictly necessary in later years.

In martial arts students are taught to yell as they strike a blow because it forces you to breathe, meaning you take in more oxygen to give you energy. Effectively control of your breathing helps to focus on delivering the blow.

When I played cricket taking a breath and raising the bat were part of my backlift routine for the same reason but I never felt the need or urge to shriek as I played the shot, it simply helped to focus the mind for that split second before deciding how to play the ball.

I have also played a fair amount of squash over the years and never once have I heard anyone grunt while making their shots. Grunts of dismay (or worse) following a bad shot there have been plenty but grunting has never routinely been part of any opponent’s game.

Martina Navratilova says that she finds grunting a distraction since she prefers to listen to the ball off the racket in order to determine the quality and direction of the shot.

To my mind the answer is simple, if you start to penalise players for persistent offending it will not be long before the practice stops. The number of 2-footed tackles dropped dramatically in football when it was decided to make this a red card offence and players now think twice about removing their shirt in celebration of a goal. Similarly rules have been introduced in rugby and cricket to curb the more unwelcome elements of the game so I believe a change in the rules on grunting will greatly reduce the noise level on the tennis court.