The TRUTH behind Obnoxious Tennis Grunting 

For those who aren't aware, the decibel scale is logarithmic. 100 dB is significantly louder than 90.

I'm pretty sure I can hear my sister and her boyfriend practising tennis late into the night, with the amount of loud grunting I hear from her bedroom.

The occasional grunt when hitting a hard ball is totally fine but repeatedy hearing the same tone grunt (regardless of the loudness) just annoys the heck out of me.

Freedom to grunt. Freedom to be silent. No freedom to intentionally distract an opponent.

It is used as a distraction tool too. Remember when Sharapova was scolded for grunting fraction of a second after hitting the ball? Well, I played a match like that and nothing distracted me more than this.

The power of 'BWEH' is a force one cannot explain...

I really think it's just a matter of degree. The Sharapovas and Azarenkas of the world drive me nuts when they play, but lower pitch/volume, shorter grunts that sound normal for accompanying an intense muscular effort have never bothered me at all.

I think Grunting is not the issue but screaming like a Tarzan is and some players; exclusively female players are exploiting the "grunt" acceptance to an insane level. I have seen Sabalenka, Azarekna and Sharapova screaming like WW1 emergency siren waaay after hitting the ball and right before the opponent is about to return. There is no way a player needs to scream like that before (and till) his/her opponent is about to return. It just dismisses the logic of grunting. These players can also be found screaming the batshit out of their throat even while doing a drop shot or a slice. No amount of logic will make it legit.

It’s pure gamesmanship. Navratilova has said hearing the noise your opponent’s racquet makes on hitting the ball tells you a lot about how cleanly they have hit it and what kind of return you can anticipate. The screaming and shrieking effectively masks this which is unsportsmanlike at best blatant cheating at worst.

As someone who plays tennis, ive only ever grunted when i was tired. It helped me stay focused and not give up plus i felt like i was exerting more power when i was swinging

The new delayed grunt some young players do is unacceptable though. They’re basically screaming their lungs off right as the opponent is supposed to hit the ball

There's grunting at the point of exhaling when hitting the ball, and then there's deliberate noise making just before the opponent is about to hit the ball. That's cheating and there are a number of ATP players who cheat. Must be banned.

I swear to god I've never seen such marvellous editing in my life, the fact that it's done only by one person is crazy. Gladly it's getting the appreciation it deserves! Another great video/topic, you never cease to amaze us my friend! ❤️

Actually, the really terrible thing about grunting is not just the noise but the implied force of hitting the ball. Players like Seles were masters at grunting loudly while hitting the ball softly and all shades in between. It was this trait that really used to piss me off as a spectator as the grunts were clearly used for distraction.

I was in a sport that required a LOT of quick, explosive reaction. Both myself and others were not there screaming like an ali-express opera signer during tournaments. When we got around to playing tennis (as we did for physical training) we'd typically play against the local tennis club the difference was staggering, they were over the other side screaming like they had been shot while we're on the other side with very minimal noise. I then went and played a couple years at their club (I was 16 at the time) and I was told off many times for being 'too quiet' and that "I'm telling you its so I can hear how you control your breath" but then in my 2nd year I was told "Yeah nah, its a lie really. We want to throw off the opposition." When it came to playing games I would listen to scream-o 'metal' and just blurred out the death sounds from the other side and not make them myself, at the level I played it was 100% for the scummy tactic for distraction and nothing else.

As a tennis coach (I am 50 now) I have lived through this phenomena, clearly its designed to hide the sound of the ball off the racquet, which gives you a large amount of information about what the ball is doing... like velocity and spin. In my opinion its a cheat.

i still remember the days when i used to watch sharapova games at silent mode on my tv so that my parents in other room do not get disturbed.

you should have also mentioned lorenzo sonego's grunts here. he literally makes sex noises on court and grunts almost when the ball has reached other side of court.

Let’s be real, when you exhale is so loud and lasts long enough for the ball to be returned before you’re done. It’s excessive lol There is a grunt and a scream, the two are not the same.

It’s a shame this practice has become so pervasive throughout tennis. It really makes the offenders’ matches far less enjoyable to watch. (Not to mention the distraction it causes for their opponent) I almost feel compelled to watch on mute if a match involves a player doing this particularly egregiously. This is one of the (many) reasons I always enjoyed Federer matches so much and miss him not playing on the tour right now. He played almost entirely silent and also quickly in between points, so you could just sit back and enjoy the beautiful and amazing tennis on display. No long pauses and disruptive noises to diminish the experience. Of course…Nadal supplied enough of those for the both of them when they faced off! ;)

These are awesome videos. Historical, scientific, and analytical. Great work!

This guy could literally talk about paint drying and it would still be interesting

I think Gustavo Kuerten’s grunt was the only that actually sounded like a breath exhaling technique

I was never taught to grunt but I started doing it *quietly* after I was playing longer matches because I began to get out of breath and needed the extra power to keep up. It was definitely way less than screaming but sometimes my teammate could hear me that's about it

The problem is, there's a difference between grunting and the screeching we hear in women's tennis. At some point it's just simply unreasonable.

Most of my male tennis friends refuse to watch women's tennis because of the grunting. Viewership of women's tennis may have increased, but it would be even higher without the grunting. To see how much it's hated, all you have to do is read the comments on any Sabalenka match. At least half of them will be rants about her grunting. And I don't buy the "it's necessary to exhale" crap. Some of these women continue screaming (not grunting, SCREAMING) long after the ball has been hit. Some of the best players in the world, including #1 Ash Barty, are totally silent. So the "screaming is necessary" argument is bullsh*t. I once saw a woman lose a point because she screamed after hitting a ball. The umpire called Hindrance. The ironic part is, her opponent screamed EVERY time she hit the ball, and this woman only screamed the one time. She called penalized for one scream, her opponent didn't get penalized for her hundreds of screams. How wrong is that?

Cult Tennis is the Summoning Salt of Tennis

BWEH still the only grunt I'm not annoyed of.

After first insisting that the Umpire made sure all spectators were perfectly silent before serving, I considered the consistent bombardment of loud yelling as a form of "Noise-Attack" on the opponent designed to throw them off their game.

If Fed, Pete, Martina & Steffi didn't need to do it, I struggle to understand why it's necessary.

I trained at IMG academy for 5 years and graduated last year and they never told us to specifically grunt, yell, be obnoxious or scream, but I was taught and told to exhale on every hit and not to be shy of being loud. Many others are also very loud and competitive there so that could be why too. I think I had a coach tell me once or twice that he needs to hear my exhales so he knows I am breathing properly too tho

Ok, the breathing, the science, the coach who wants to hear the pupil’s breath... but let’s not pretend they do it JUST for that reason. The fact that it annoys the opponent is not just a happy coincidence.

I’ve noticed that most portayals of tennis on tv shows are doubles, yet singles is actually much more popular in real life Edit: thanks for telling me in the replies, I have rarely ever played doubles

I never knew this was an issue, in tennis! Very informative video. The whole situation actually reminds me of a similar issue in fencing, at least here in Greece. When players score a point, they will often shout into the air. Ive heard its alternatively to relieve tension and to convince the referee to give them the point during controversial "phases"(?) (Basically whenever its uncertain who had right of way in a bout) I was at a tourney, recently, and one of the schools' participant were being EXTREMELY loud whenever they scored...! It was qyite distracting, actually. Admittedly, thats not the sort of thing that happens during gameplay, so its ptobably more of a psychological/intimidation factor, there.

Martial artists do this. In Korean arts it is known as a "Kiyap", a cry performed during a strike to help focus the attack, startle the opponent, and add commitment to the follow through. It is extremely effective when done correctly.

Very Analytical & Scientific! Your topics & presentations are unique from the rest Keep growing!

The production value on these are insane

Legends like Graf, Sampras, Borg, Federer never grunted. That’s how tennis should be played. No need to grunt. 🤔

Great video, thanks. Even though coaches might want to hear the ‘breath’, they definitely know that with the minimal advantage it gives their ‘grunter/screamer’ it becomes a much bigger disadvantage for their opponent. 2 ft in tennis is huge. Serena’s screams often seemed like that to me. Instead of being loudest when she was winning, as you would expect if it was an advantage, she got louder the worse she was playing and the further she got behind. Seles changing something so major in her game for a slam final was actually a pretty dumb move, no wonder she regrets it, that’s something for the off-season. Most players wouldn’t even change their shoe laces at that point.

Excessuve grunting is player interference, which is sanctioned in the Rules, thus it should not be allowed. One main reason it is allowed is money: imagine banning Sharapova because of her grunting. Would her $ponsors and the WTA allow that? Imagine the lost money. Yes, the sport is being corrupted and that can be a very sad thing.

I personally don't watch any Tennis because I just didn't really find anyone that really blew me away as a newbie. The grunting was one of the parts that pushed me away from it.I know now why it makes sense so it's a little better that in the past. I still watched all of your videos because their so well done and very interesting. You explain everything very understandably and clear for people like me,who don't know much about Tennis in general. So cheers to you!!

OMG Your editing level is SO out of this world!! and the research you do and your understanding of everything, WOW man you are the GOAT Thank you for that !

What I can’t understand, is that the umpire asks for SILENCE before the serve. Then they GRUNT on the serve. It seems that this favours the server. Why doesn’t the receiver get SILENCE. Or can the receiver GRUNT when the server is serving?

Grunting really hard as I completely miss the ball with my swing

When I lived in halls at university, I used to have to walk past the indoor tennis court every day, and even outside you could hear over-the-top grunting. The sports stars of today are setting a bad example for those of tomorrow.

Jesus, Larcher de Brito took it to another level. Her shriek was simply diabolical, and she was no where good enough to be able to get away with it. At the end of the day, you can't stop players from grunting unless it's inconsistent and deliberate and clearly falls on the side of hindrance.

My issue is more for how long some of them maintain the scream, it can carry till their opponent is making contact with the ball.

Having just learned the game recently in my old age, I appreciate the skill of these young players on the court. They do not get enough credit . The grunting does not bother me when watching an intense game. The games appear to be more and more intense these days, it is not the same polite game of 50 years ago, it has become a chess tournament with ball and racquet.

Grunting in weightlifting and power lifting actually 8s unintentional. it's air escaping the intensity of the velsalva movement under extreme duress, but they do not scream or drag it out. In fact it's in their best interest to fight to keep it under wraps as that stored air is vital to stability and muscular tension and thus prevents injury. I find it hard to believed the prolonged howling in some of these examples is at all necessary, it's not like we see golfers screaming after a long drive as a part of their follow through - and they are assuredly delivering equal if not exceeding amounts of effort in order to move the ball in their sport.

I came very close to leaving a Sharapova centre court Wimbledon Match it was so gawd darn annoying. Its absolutely unnecessary when it's screeching

This channel always makes my day better!

Honestly, in my opinion, if the grunt is quick, it's not on purpose, if it's long and exaggerated, then it's purposely done because as said in the video, when you hit the ball really hard, you can let out an exhale that makes a noise but when it's done like that, it will only ever be quick meaning that the majority of tennis players purposely grunt to gain some ssort of advantage. Hard truth whether you agree or not. Great video btw.

It’s great that players like Federer, Sinner, Swiatek and Rybakina show us that you don’t need to grunt to be successful. In case of Sabalenka, no one can tell me that her grunts don’t affect the opponents in the slightest. I‘m convinced that she is also successful because of her constantly earraping her opponents.

For me as (quiet) hobby tennis player, grunting is used by my opponents for preventing me to hear the contact sound, ie, the type of shots they are performing. And for psychological reasons of looking strength in some particular point.

I tried this "grunting improves performance" theory on my wife when we made love. She wasn't impressed, i still only lasted 3 seconds, so no improvement from grunting.

I can agree with the being taught to grunt part. When I joined an international academy they taught us to go “huh” when the ball bounced and “ehhh” when we hit so that we relaxed when hitting the shot. I noticeably play better when doing it but try to not be too loud

I hate grunting *SO* much. Just shut the hell up play the game. If you gotta breathe or whatever, just breathe! Don't *SCREAM* your damn guts out every single time!

Amazing vid! Well done! Only thing missing was talking about delayed grunting where players grunt long after they've hit the ball just before their opponent is trying to hit. The worst.

They do it also to distract the opponent. Sharapova rarely grunted during practice, but would kill her vocal cords screaming. Same with Azarenka, and more than half of the Spaniard players (both men and women), as well as the South Americans. If it's not prohibited, then players will do it.

The next gen of loud grunters will defenitely come from Rafael Nadal Academy.

Haha Svitolina started screeching like a beast in the middle of the match today because Leylah was putting a whooping on her. Too bad it wasn't enough and LEYLAH STILL WON!!!! that noise is horribly annoying. Azarenka is another person that has a horrible shriek... normal grunts aren't bad or annoying but some people way overdo it and sometimes I get a little suspicious that some players do it to throw their opponent off... like today im convinced that's why Svitolina randomly started doing it in the middle of the match when she was losing.

The production quality on this is just * chef's kiss *

I was halfway expecting this video to cover stomping in table tennis, particularly when serving. The stomp provides an auditory mask over paddle/ball contact, which can be used as a pretty significant indicator of how much spin/power is imparted on the ball when paired with the visual movement. In table tennis you can telegraph a big hit while actually hitting softly and vice versa; the sound of the paddle hit can quickly tell you what's happening UNLESS the hit itself is muffled with a well-timed foot stomp. I'm wondering if a similar effect is occurring during a tennis racket hit&grunt on top of the physiological tightening of the core muscles

Everything in moderation. Some grunts, you can just tell are excessive and unnecessary. For example, when you're slicing the ball or hitting finesse shots, do you really need to grunt loudly? As for Nick Bolleteri. I never liked him. I always felt like he is especially a poor coach when it comes to character.

Two other things I think are worth noting: 1) Some players say they grunt because, as kids, their coaches said they weren't hitting the ball as hard as they could. So they effectively trained themselves to grunt loudly at a young age to show they're hitting as hard as they can. I think it was Sharapova who said this once. 2) The advantage of exhaling sharply to tighten muscles isn't a strong argument in favor of grunting. You can achieve the same effect at a much quieter level. Anyone who has done Taekwondo knows this - you're taught to exhale sharply making a kind of "huttt" breath sound. It's not loud at all but is just as effective as audible grunting.

9:05 Wow, that was savage.

I feel like grunting just adds a sense of power to the swing and even listening to it feels very satisfying to me

as a young tennis player on the rise i grunt with every stroke personally it helps me focus even more its my way of telling myself "c'mon keep it in" without actually saying it grunting has become a part of my game now

I am just so glad that the new girls like Emma and Laylah are not grunters. They did take out many loud grunters on their way to the final.

This channels quality in editing and overall watchability is excellent. Top notch and very impressive.

I’m 31, I started playing tennis 3 months ago but had boxed my entire life. The grunt sound to me is a thing of comfort. Letting out jabs and power punches just feels better. I feel the same way about tennis.

Well as a Taekwondo fighter who's getting into tennis we also grunt...i rarely do but at some fights or trainings when youre kinda tired already and you kick hard the grunt comes out naturally...ofc some ppl overdo it.

@Cult Tennis Can you please do an analysis of Sonego's grunts? Why does his audible grunt come so much later after he has hit the ball? That seems more of a distraction than to tighten the core muscles as explained in the video

your videos are of such a high standard, it's incredible! Very analytical and well designed, interesting animations and cuts. Keep up the great work :)

In Japanese martial arts, shouting or "grunting" at the moment of a strike is called "kiai." The "ki" part is a cognate of the Chinese "Chi," meaning "breath" or "life-force." And kiai is considered a necessary component of focusing power to strike. So the fact that grunting can improve tennis ball striking isn't a surprise. (btw, I used to love watching Monica Seles play!)

excessive noise hides the power of the hit, how it was hit, and the direction. Definitely a tactical distraction, and that coach knew what he was doing.

I was in one such academy. They 100% do and told us it would help us hit harder… It actually made our opponents hit harder trying to beat us quicker to save their ear drums

damn this editing is spectacular! really appreciating the time you take with motion graphics and thoughtful scripting

Great topic, I’ve always wondered this myself. Also I strongly doubt not grunting that one match was Monica celles’s biggest regret

No one is grunting in volley ball, badminton, football, rugby, handball, ping pong, I continue ? Do I really need to, it's pathetic 😂😂😂

Fun to play, humdrum to watch for some of us. It really reminds me of Showbol (indoor soccer) and its changes and evolution. Pickleball is in its early stages and probably some tweaks might come in the future at pro-level to make it more appealing?

I give this an overall "HUH...UGH" This is a very needed video

and then there's Sonego

Great video once again! Would be interesting to see who amongst top men have also benefited from grunting (Nadal, Murray, etc)

I can hear my neighbors practicing tennis each night and sometimes in the morning, weird

as a man, i don't want to hear a man grunting, "quiet" as it's kept, a woman either (outside a bedroom) this has ruined the sport... I can't watch most tennis matches with the volume up.

Bear in mind that deciBels are a logarithmic scale, where an increase of 10dB is roughly equivalent to double the perceived loudness of a sound. That means Larcher de Brito is around FOUR times louder than Seles.

I don’t know how you missed to mention Lorenzo Sonego in the context of grunting to distract the opponent 🤷🏻‍♂️

Grunting is usually executed in an action with extra exertion like a power shot in martial arts or lifting something in everyday life. If these players are doing this every shot and have been doing so since young, it just means it is a bad habit.

My wife watches tennis on TV, and I either leave the room or have her turn the volume off - just because of the obnoxious grunting. Some of them make sounds that would make you think that they were just stabbed in the back.

We like Grunting. It adds to the drama of the tennis battle. Weak minded players who “get distracted” by their opponent’s grunt should focus more on improving their mental fortitude, or else they’ll continue to lose with or without the presence of a grunt.

Your videos are just amazing! Thank you so much for doing this!

Nadal: “imma pretend I didn’t hear that.”

I can't stand watching modern tennis specifically because of all the grunting. I absolutely hate it.

Obnoxious grunting could also be done to say, "Look at me, look at me."

Very good. To say that Serena and Sharapova (to name a few) dont do it to intimidate would be a flat out lie. I know the physical advantage, stabilised core ect, but you can gain this exhaling without screaming. Another point is that men tend to get away with grunting as its a lower sound and not such an assault on the ears. Another point is that this guy who does these vids is a legend.

9:07 was just salt in the wound 😭 cult tennis keeps tearing into Roger for that choke like bruh

Great topic and video, as always, @CULT TENNIS "Normal" grunting doesn't really annoy me, but Azarenka/Sharapova/Berlocq etc... That's so goddamn annoying, I could not stand playing against them. Watching them is equally off-putting. It's odd that players don't do anything, like mimic the big grunters as a hint to stop, as Robin Haase hilariously did and received a hindrance call /watch?v=UAEuNom72Jo Very interesting about the impraired judgement (30ms) while receiving and the improved power by grunting. But I cannot believe the _excessive_ grunting is to throw off the opponent. At least a part of it.

Bottom line; tennis generates revenue from the sports popularity. More people watch, means larger purses. Viewers HATE grunting, enough so that I know many casual fans who don't watch any more or refuse to watch matches with obnoxious grunters. And it is the causal viewers who cause the viewing numbers to increase dramatically, thus the dollars. Grunting won't kill the sport but it'll definitely hurt it's wide appeal and revenue generating capacity.

I used to love watching tennis but the damn grunting makes it impossible.