Monica Seles Says She Never Grunted on Purpose

Written by: Staff on 8th February 2012

Monica Seles Says She Never Grunted on Purpose |

Whenever the tennis debate centers on the thorny subject of ‘noise emitted on court’ former world no.1 Monica Seles is habitually cited as the player who started the trend and necessitated the need for a ‘grunt-ometer’.

Now the 38 year-old winner of nine majors singles titles between 1990 and 1996 has warned the likes of current day world no.1 Victoria Azarenka, beaten Australian Open finalist Maria Sharapova and the legion of other shriekers that it might just be time to quiet them down if it satisfies the demands of fans.

“The bottom line is that players are there to entertain the fans and make sure that the paying customers get the most enjoyment,” said Seles, who added only the likes of Azarenka and Sharapova will know if they are grunting in an attempt to unsettle the opposition.

She added: “Whatever happens, you have to be true to yourself. As long as you’re not grunting to upset an opponent, it’s okay.

“Whatever the rule is about grunting, the bottom line is that the players are paid to do this. If the fans demand no grunting, then you have to play with no grunting. If the fans demand grunting, then you play with grunting.”

Seles, in London for the Laureus Sporting Awards, is aware that both WTA and the International Tennis Federation have grunting on their agenda and she said: “Whatever the authorities decide is fine by me. You have to go with. The same as Wimbledon deciding that you have to wear all white – so the players play in all white.

“I never grunted on purpose. I grunted from the age of eight. I grunted when I was ranked 83 in the world. I grunted when I was number one in the world. I know that I played my heart out. That was my style of play.

“If you look back at footage of me, when I was 12 or 14, I was grunting against the same players. But when I became number one, then it became an issue. Whatever the WTA decide about grunting, that’s the rule.”

Seles acknowledged there are plenty of other issues that rival grunting, and added: “ All you can do as a tennis player when you go out there is to focus on yourself. You play opponents who bounce the ball 50 times before they serve, or take much longer between points than they should do, or take injury time-outs.