Latest news with #MonicaSeles
The Age
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Age
OK Wimbledon, time to put a tennis sock in it and stop this shrieking racket
Wimbledon is always a delight, but have you found yourself secretly hoping that the players who grunt the loudest will lose? Or, like many of us who find these incessant exhalations so infuriating, do you just mute the TV and watch in silence? Monica Seles was the first tennis pro to make herself heard. Credit: Ray Kennedy Surely this shrieking should stop. The full-throttle drives of golfers, cricket batsmen and baseball hitters – all of which require at least as much physical effort as a tennis groundstroke – can apparently be executed without those athletes emitting as much as a peep. Not so long ago, before Monica Seles was allowed to establish the habit (and the men adopted it soon after), none of the great players felt compelled to grunt like rutting elks. Thankfully, despite Maria Sharapova's poor example, there are still some competitors able to win matches without bellowing to the bleachers with every stroke. In my view, loud, prolonged vocalising during a point is cheating, not just because it is a distraction but because it also robs the opponent of crucial sensory inputs. The precise timing and sound of the ball-strike and bounce provide vital cues as to spin, weight of shot, and trajectory. If these are masked by extraneous sound then the receiver is robbed of information that can help them fashion their best response. That's why the umpires rightly insist on crowd silence during points. Yet the authorities who govern tennis (despite repeated assurances that they intend to confront the problem) have never invoked the one measure that could settle the grunting issue: their own regulations. Here's the applicable International Tennis Federation rule: HINDRANCE: If a player is hindered in playing the point by a deliberate act of the opponent, the player shall win the point. Loading Note: 'shall win the point'. No warning. No let played. The key 'wriggle-word' in that rule is 'deliberate'. The grunters always argue that their noise is just an involuntary physical response to the exertion of hitting the ball. But Rule 26 has that covered: However, the point shall be replayed if a player is hindered in playing the point by an unintentional act of the opponent. In other words, a player who objected to the distracting noises coming from the other side of the net could ask the umpire for the previous point to be replayed, again and again, until their opponent desisted, retired or was defaulted. Nevertheless, a player's complaint on those grounds during a French Open match brought no action. At the time, Martina Navratilova said: 'The grunting has reached an unacceptable level. It is cheating, pure and simple. It is time for something to be done'. Later, the WTA chief executive acknowledged the issue, saying: 'It's time for us to drive excessive grunting out of the game for future generations.'
Sydney Morning Herald
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
OK Wimbledon, time to smash this shrieking racket
Wimbledon is always a delight, but have you found yourself secretly hoping that the players who grunt the loudest will lose? Or, like many of us who find these incessant exhalations so infuriating, do you just mute the TV and watch in silence? Surely this shrieking should stop. The full-throttle drives of golfers, cricket batsmen and baseball hitters – all of which require at least as much physical effort as a tennis groundstroke – can apparently be executed without those athletes emitting as much as a peep. Not so long ago, before Monica Seles was allowed to establish the habit (and the men adopted it soon after), none of the great players felt compelled to grunt like rutting elks. Thankfully, despite Maria Sharapova's poor example, there are still some competitors able to win matches without bellowing to the bleachers with every stroke. In my view, loud, prolonged vocalising during a point is cheating, not just because it is a distraction but because it also robs the opponent of crucial sensory inputs. The precise timing and sound of the ball-strike and bounce provide vital cues as to spin, weight of shot, and trajectory. If these are masked by extraneous sound then the receiver is robbed of information that can help them fashion their best response. That's why the umpires rightly insist on crowd silence during points. Yet the authorities who govern tennis (despite repeated assurances that they intend to confront the problem) have never invoked the one measure that could settle the grunting issue: their own regulations. Here's the applicable International Tennis Federation rule: HINDRANCE: If a player is hindered in playing the point by a deliberate act of the opponent, the player shall win the point. Loading Note: 'shall win the point'. No warning. No let played. The key 'wriggle-word' in that rule is 'deliberate'. The grunters always argue that their noise is just an involuntary physical response to the exertion of hitting the ball. But Rule 26 has that covered: However, the point shall be replayed if a player is hindered in playing the point by an unintentional act of the opponent. In other words, a player who objected to the distracting noises coming from the other side of the net could ask the umpire for the previous point to be replayed, again and again, until their opponent desisted, retired or was defaulted. Nevertheless, a player's complaint on those grounds during a French Open match brought no action. At the time, Martina Navratilova said: 'The grunting has reached an unacceptable level. It is cheating, pure and simple. It is time for something to be done'. Later, the WTA chief executive acknowledged the issue, saying: 'It's time for us to drive excessive grunting out of the game for future generations.'
The Age
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Age
OK Wimbledon, time to smash this shrieking racket
Wimbledon is always a delight, but have you found yourself secretly hoping that the players who grunt the loudest will lose? Or, like many of us who find these incessant exhalations so infuriating, do you just mute the TV and watch in silence? Surely this shrieking should stop. The full-throttle drives of golfers, cricket batsmen and baseball hitters – all of which require at least as much physical effort as a tennis groundstroke – can apparently be executed without those athletes emitting as much as a peep. Not so long ago, before Monica Seles was allowed to establish the habit (and the men adopted it soon after), none of the great players felt compelled to grunt like rutting elks. Thankfully, despite Maria Sharapova's poor example, there are still some competitors able to win matches without bellowing to the bleachers with every stroke. In my view, loud, prolonged vocalising during a point is cheating, not just because it is a distraction but because it also robs the opponent of crucial sensory inputs. The precise timing and sound of the ball-strike and bounce provide vital cues as to spin, weight of shot, and trajectory. If these are masked by extraneous sound then the receiver is robbed of information that can help them fashion their best response. That's why the umpires rightly insist on crowd silence during points. Yet the authorities who govern tennis (despite repeated assurances that they intend to confront the problem) have never invoked the one measure that could settle the grunting issue: their own regulations. Here's the applicable International Tennis Federation rule: HINDRANCE: If a player is hindered in playing the point by a deliberate act of the opponent, the player shall win the point. Loading Note: 'shall win the point'. No warning. No let played. The key 'wriggle-word' in that rule is 'deliberate'. The grunters always argue that their noise is just an involuntary physical response to the exertion of hitting the ball. But Rule 26 has that covered: However, the point shall be replayed if a player is hindered in playing the point by an unintentional act of the opponent. In other words, a player who objected to the distracting noises coming from the other side of the net could ask the umpire for the previous point to be replayed, again and again, until their opponent desisted, retired or was defaulted. Nevertheless, a player's complaint on those grounds during a French Open match brought no action. At the time, Martina Navratilova said: 'The grunting has reached an unacceptable level. It is cheating, pure and simple. It is time for something to be done'. Later, the WTA chief executive acknowledged the issue, saying: 'It's time for us to drive excessive grunting out of the game for future generations.'
CNN
18-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Jasmine Paolini beats Coco Gauff in Italian Open final to become first home winner in 40 years
Jasmine Paolini beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in the Italian Open women's singles final on Saturday to become the first Italian player to win the tournament in 40 years, before repeating the feat in the doubles final on Sunday. In doing so, Paolini became the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to win both the singles and doubles titles at the Italian Open, and the first player to do so in any WTA 1000 series tournament since Vera Zvonareva at Indian Wells in 2009. With Italian President Sergio Mattarella in attendance for the match against Gauff, Paolini fed off the energy of the home crowd and looked a class above her opponent to claim what is arguably the biggest win of her career. 'It doesn't seem real to me,' the 29-year-old said, per AP. 'I came here as a kid to see this tournament but winning it and holding up this trophy wasn't even in my dreams.' Neither player could hold their serve across the first three games, but Paolini won the fourth to take a 3-1 lead and was in command for the remainder of the set. The Italian then broke her opponent twice at the beginning of the second set to take a 3-0 lead, before Gauff broke back. But Paolini remained composed, re-establishing her three-game lead in the very next game and cruising through the rest of the set, eventually clinching the victory with a big serve down the middle on her second championship point and raising her arms in celebration. Paolini, runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon last year, is the first Italian winner at the Italian Open since Raffaella Reggi won the women's singles tournament in 1985. She is only the fourth Italian winner overall since the tournament began in 1930. The victory means she will move up to fourth in the world rankings ahead of the French Open, which begins on Sunday, May 25. 'Maybe I could have served better and put more balls in the court,' said Gauff, who had 55 unforced errors and seven double faults. 'I definitely could and can. But she played to win today and she deserved to win.' 'With the double faults, it's something I know I have to improve,' she added. Then, on Sunday, Paolini and Sara Errani, the reigning Olympic champions, twice came from 4-0 down to win the women's doubles final 6-4, 7-5 against Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens. Men's world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is hoping to complete a first ever Italian sweep of the Rome singles titles when he faces Carlos Alcaraz later on Sunday. The last Italian man to win the tournament was Adriano Panatta in 1976.
CNN
18-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Jasmine Paolini beats Coco Gauff in Italian Open final to become first home winner in 40 years
Jasmine Paolini beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in the Italian Open women's singles final on Saturday to become the first Italian player to win the tournament in 40 years, before repeating the feat in the doubles final on Sunday. In doing so, Paolini became the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to win both the singles and doubles titles at the Italian Open, and the first player to do so in any WTA 1000 series tournament since Vera Zvonareva at Indian Wells in 2009. With Italian President Sergio Mattarella in attendance for the match against Gauff, Paolini fed off the energy of the home crowd and looked a class above her opponent to claim what is arguably the biggest win of her career. 'It doesn't seem real to me,' the 29-year-old said, per AP. 'I came here as a kid to see this tournament but winning it and holding up this trophy wasn't even in my dreams.' Neither player could hold their serve across the first three games, but Paolini won the fourth to take a 3-1 lead and was in command for the remainder of the set. The Italian then broke her opponent twice at the beginning of the second set to take a 3-0 lead, before Gauff broke back. But Paolini remained composed, re-establishing her three-game lead in the very next game and cruising through the rest of the set, eventually clinching the victory with a big serve down the middle on her second championship point and raising her arms in celebration. Paolini, runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon last year, is the first Italian winner at the Italian Open since Raffaella Reggi won the women's singles tournament in 1985. She is only the fourth Italian winner overall since the tournament began in 1930. The victory means she will move up to fourth in the world rankings ahead of the French Open, which begins on Sunday, May 25. 'Maybe I could have served better and put more balls in the court,' said Gauff, who had 55 unforced errors and seven double faults. 'I definitely could and can. But she played to win today and she deserved to win.' 'With the double faults, it's something I know I have to improve,' she added. Then, on Sunday, Paolini and Sara Errani, the reigning Olympic champions, twice came from 4-0 down to win the women's doubles final 6-4, 7-5 against Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens. Men's world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is hoping to complete a first ever Italian sweep of the Rome singles titles when he faces Carlos Alcaraz later on Sunday. The last Italian man to win the tournament was Adriano Panatta in 1976.
