London - Grunting noises made by female tennis players as they strike the ball are getting out of hand, and rules should be changed to crack down on the practice, Wimbledon referee Alan Mills has said, according to a report on Sunday.
Mills, Wimbledon's chief official for 22 years who retires after this week's tournament, which begins on Monday, told The Sunday Times he believed coaches were teaching young women players to grunt.
"I don't like it at all. Today there is probably more grunting than there has ever been," he said.
"If I was playing an opponent making so much noise, I think I'd just laugh. But it's what young players are being coached to do.
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'It's what young players are being coached to do' "Many of the non-grunting players are unhappy about the noise pollution and a kind of counter-grunt culture has emerged in recent years whereby offended parties ape their opponent's noises."
He added: "Officials can only act if the player is shown to be making the noise on purpose, which is virtually impossible to do.
"As far as I am concerned it is certainly a specific matter that the rule makers should address."
One of the loudest of the modern grunters is defending women's champion Maria Sharapova, who, according to the paper, makes a 100-decibel grunt, roughly the same volume as small aircraft landing nearby.
But the 18-year-old Russian insists she doesn't think about the noise, just her game on the court.
"I really don't think about it. It's an old story. It's really none of my business to control what people think." - Sapa-AFP
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