One is that the sound/out breath can become a habit solely to prevent competitors holding their breath (or breathing IN). In weight training, you ALWAYS breathe OUT while lifting the weight and IN when lowering the weight. Holding your breath is especially a no no even for injuries I think. Secondly, most sporting maneuvers have a particular chain of events where you require the muscles to tense and then relax in the best order for greatest efficiency/speed/power.

I can easily use a boxing punch because I have been a professional fighter and also a qualified trainer and strength/conditioning trainer. The timing of when muscles are active enables greater speed at the point of impact…you will never throw a punch with as much power if your hand is clenched throughout the entire punch, as you will if you start at the floor with your feet, pivot through the action, engage your abs, then shoulder, then arms and lastly hand snapping to a clenched fist (not to mention the build-up of lactic acid in muscles that are engaged unnecessarily and for too long). Imagine throwing a ball, when do you engage what muscles and for how long?

Secondly, in line with what I just mentioned, if you are constantly engaging you abs/pecs in with that prolonged grunt/scream…what does this do to your body? If Azarenka is still shrieking well after completing a tennis stroke, her abs are still engaged - how does this help her prepare her body for its next action? I would argue that it actually messes up her preparedness for another action.

Funny that they are both (ie Azarenka/sharapova) both elite players of the game - I’d love to know how well they would do if they weren’t cheating!!

Can we all agree that tennis has moved from a game of finesse to a game of power hitters? 

Let’s take the most extreme case of a power sport we all know - weight lifting. Here it is almost expected that you grunt when lifting your body weight and then some over your head. Why do they do it? 

Try it out yourself right now. Go on, give a little grunt. What happens? Do you feel your stomach muscles tighten briefly? 

How about when you have that jar lid that just won’t open? Do you give a little grunt on the second or third attempt trying to get to your prize? Why do it? 

To maximise your effort, that is to increase your power output, you need to employ more of your musculature. A Great deal of power is generated in the legs, and grunting helps to link in the abdominal chain and lower back. Yes, the arms swing the racquet and generate some power, but it is the lower chain that most power comes from. That’s why players set their stance in preparation for a return, or lifting extraordinary weights above your head, or when opening a stubborn lid on a jar, and the grunting helps to exert that little bit more power. Ever noticed how the grunt and power is lessened when chasing a return rather than coming from a set stance?

I watched the women’s final, and you may be surprised that even Li Na grunts when hitting her more powerful shots. Nothing like the Azerenka blow your house down grunt but a grunt none the less. 

One day, more skill may creep back into the game, but as it stands it’s a baseline duel to the death. A power hitters, and hence a grunters paradise. 

I recall, as a youthful student of karate many years ago, a technique known then as ‘ki-ya’ where one delivered a shout at the same time as the strike. This was meant to both un-nerve your opponent and, more importantly, help you concentrate greater power into your blow. Perhaps someone actually expert in sports physiol. could enlighten us in this regard.

Not only should all noise emanating from the players been banned under the Hinderance rule, all bright clothing and footwear should also be considered a Hinderance. Wearing all these bright colours surely hides and hinders the opponents observation of the ball coming towards them. I could not concentrate properly on Federer’s match as I was constantly distracted by his hot pink shoes and laces. I could not imagine having to play Federer in those  coloured shoes as my play would be hindered and I, let alone anyone else who plays him, would not be able to give him a proper run for his money.

These players are clearly rorting the system with their subtle yet indiscreet cheating. I now watch the tennis not only with the volume lowered, but in black and white just so I can concentrate on the game at hand…

These days I only watch when the players are courteous and abide by rule 26 - which means I see very little tennis. The game has been tainted and should be cleaned-up.

“…although oddly enough you rarely hear it on the practice court”

I think that’s the dead giveaway, it’s not physical exertion, it’s a deliberate tactic. The referees rightly ask the spectators to be quiet. the same should go for the players.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark if the Umpires cant apply the rules for fear of losing their jobs.

As I have no other control over it, my reaction is to cease watching a match in which systematic shrieking occurs - advertisers might take note and decline to advertise when players such as Azarenka are on court.

Maria Sharapova’s vocal chords should be cut, and Victoria Azarenka sounds as if she is having a mini-orgasm every time she strikes the ball. It would be a great comedy skit, but, that’s not what she’s paid for.

Non withstanding the fact that a few of the men have started to grunt-the Spanish guy who played Federer in the quarter finals, being a case in point-it is almost revolting to watch as no one at the tennis seems at worried by this flagrant cheating. Three years ago there was a lot of spectator unrest. Today anything goes!