Grunting on the tennis court has long sparked debate, but some of the sport’s biggest names insist it is instinctive rather than intentional. Maria Sharapova says she has grunted since childhood and never planned it, while Victoria Azarenka maintains it is simply part of expressing herself on court, noting that men grunt too
Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams and Monica Seles. Pics/AFP
Maria Sharapova: I’ve been grunting since I was a kid. It’s just instinctive. It’s not planned or I never thought about it while playing. It just came naturally. You either do it or you don’t.
Victoria Azarenka: I’m just being me. I say what I want to say. I laugh when I want to laugh. I play how I want to play. I grunt when I want to grunt. I can’t stop and I won’t. Guys grunt too.
Serena Williams: I grunt because growing up I liked Monica Seles and she had this very cool grunt which sounded like, “aaa-eee.”
So I started grunting and later it came naturally.
Monica Seles: I’ve grunted since age 7-8. I was a little girl and they didn’t have kids racquets in those days so my dad gave me his racquet, and I was tiny, so I put all my energy into it and so the grunt.
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