Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska on Tuesday backed a push to tone down undignified screaming by women's players - and said the high-decibel grunts made the game unappealing to watch.
Speaking after her Australian Open quarter-final loss to notorious screamer Victoria Azarenka, Radwanska agreed the WTA needed to limit noisy play.
The issue of screaming reared its head at the Australian Open after large sections of the crowd mimicked Azarenka during her second-round match against Casey Dellacqua.
It surfaced again following Maria Sharapova's tense three-set win over Sabine Lisicki on Monday, when the Russian's screams became louder as tensions built in the match.
"Well, you know, I mean, of course everybody can make some noise. This is tennis, it's really hard work out there. But I think, you know, it's just too loud," Radwanska said.
"I don't think it's very necessary to scream that loud, so if they (WTA) want to do something, why not?
"I don't think this is very nice to watch, you know, those kind of players that scream so much all the time. So that's why I think the WTA wants to change something."
Radwanska has been friends with Azarenka since they met as juniors 10 years ago and she was reluctant to criticise the Belarusian. But she said Sharapova was simply too loud.
"To be honest, I'm kind of used to it, you know, especially with Vika (Azarenka). We know each other for many years," she said.
"About Maria, I mean, what can I say? For sure that is pretty annoying and it's just too loud."
The WTA has written to coaches and academies asking them to discourage screaming, in a bid to cut noise levels on court.
But Azarenka laughed off the controversy and said she had been loud since she was a child.
"It's the way I am, the way I play, the way I used to play when I was a kid," said the Belarusian.
"And if you want to a little bit more on insight, I think it's the way that made me breathe, made me move. It's part of my movement.
"As a child I was really weak, so I had to give that little extra power there. It kind of stuck with me."
AFP
Tags: sport, tennis, melbourne-3000, vic, australia First posted January 24, 2012 22:04:51
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