The reason why tennis players scream and grunt when hitting shots

The pop of champagne, the murmur of background chatter and the deafening grunts from players putting their all into shots: all three are quintessential sounds of Wimbledon. But as this year's Championships come to a close, have you ever wondered why tennis players make such noises while they're playing?

It's a trait as old as tennis, with the sport's biggest stars from several different generations having been partial to a grunt. Monica Seles, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe all had trademark shrieks, with the reason why differing from player to player.

Why do tennis players scream and grunt?

They range from a release of tension, improving rhythm and an unusual method of generating extra power, but not every player's motive is as genuine. That's because on occasion, players may perform the yell as a method of putting their opponent off. Cheeky, right?

Then there's the sports science element of it, as while it might sound forced to some, the art of squawking can be attributed to a specialised breathing technique. Those with first-hand experience of a personal trainer will be all too aware that letting out a grunt while putting in the hard yards can assist with breathing and rhythm, therefore improving performance levels.

One of tennis' most infamous grunters was former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, with her shouts having been said to break the 100 decibel mark in the past. Commenting on the practice back in 2012, she explained: "When you start something from a young age and continue it, it's a habit- whether you do grunt or don't grunt."

Queen of the grunting is a mantle that appears to have been taken up by current women's world No.1, Aryna Sabalenka. The 27-year-old was even once left red-faced by how loud her grunts were during a mic'd-up session with ATP Tour icon Novak Djokovic at a previous Australian Open. Ahead of this year's Wimbledon, he even went as far as jokingly calling her out for the loud noises.

Sabalenka's tendency to make noise while playing shots even drew the attention of opponent Ons Jabeur, who said following the pair's 2023 Wimbledon semi-final: "She was screaming for both of us, I guess! I couldn't even scream with her. It's tough. It is true. I mean, that's the thing about playing Aryna. She's there. You know she's there."

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While world No.2 Coco Gauff has previously remarked: "No. I mean, I played her a lot, so I can't sit here and say that the grunt is distracting. I don't notice, you know, when - I feel like at least with her it's consistent, so it doesn't bother me.

"I've played a player in the past where the grunt wasn't consistent, where they would grunt longer on purpose on 30-All or deuce point. If it's consistent, I can't really say anything about it."