You could be an avid tennis fan who streams tour matches on a random Tuesday in March. Or, you could be someone who doesn\u2019t know who Roger Federer is. But one thing becomes obvious the moment you watch a tennis match: Tennis players are loud.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever watched a match and wondered why on earth players make such strange, dramatic noises when they hit the ball, you\u2019re not alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And if you\u2019ve somehow never experienced the thrill and noise of a competitive tennis match, consider yourself officially forewarned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A tennis grunt comes in many varieties \u2014 kind of like different dog barks. There are the deep \u201cWAAA-eys\u201d (usually courtesy of clay-court grinders). High-pitched squeals. Yogi-like exhales. And occasionally, screeches that make you glance at the remote to make sure you didn\u2019t accidentally switch from Tennis Channel to Animal Planet (a phenomenon best understood by watching highlights from Belarusian pro Victoria Azarenka).\u00a0<\/p>\n
No other sport quite matches the soundtrack of tennis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Weightlifters let out noise during a maximum-effort deadlift. Soccer players might grunt while making a decisive shot on goal. But you don\u2019t hear a baseball batter screeching through a home run swing, or a golfer audibly exhaling mid-putt. The very thought feels absurd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tennis players, meanwhile, do it on nearly every shot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a sport wrapped in country-club tradition \u2014 pristine whites at Wimbledon, quiet spectators, polite applause between points \u2014 the contrast feels all the more striking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is it exaggerated? Sometimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Necessary? Arguably.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Strategic? At times (again, just ask Azarenka).<\/p>\n
Tennis grunting is the butt of many jokes, especially from people who aren\u2019t spending their afternoons practicing their groundstrokes or watching Novak Djokovic highlights like thrillers (yes, I absolutely do that). It\u2019s prime meme material.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Enjoy what you’re reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the part that often gets lost in the jokes: Grunting actually helps you play better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just ask Florida women\u2019s tennis associate head coach Axel Damiens, who emphasizes its importance for both performance and stress release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s very important,\u201d Damiens said. \u201cThe exit velocity of the ball of a player grunting compared to a player not grunting is faster. It’s a way of breathing out, instead of keeping it inside and getting a little more stressed and tighter. It’s a way of exerting air and creating power and force. So yeah, I’m big on it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amid the high-pressure environment of college tennis, where matches can swing on a single point, finding ways to stay loose and execute in tight moments is essential.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sports science research backs up Damiens\u2019 perspective. Multiple studies show grunting can enhance hitting performance. Collegiate tennis players were found<\/a> to hit with significantly increased groundstrokes and serve velocity when they grunted.\u00a0<\/p>\n