Is the grunting of tennis players a form of cheating? Is it intended to upset/unnerve opponents?
The first grunting was developed by Nick Bolleteri in his Tennis Academy. It was used on impact with the ball to exhale breath in order to gain the maximum power – much as somebody lifting weights might do. Inhale on the way down and exhale when pushing the weight up, and it can be very effective for that too. Somehow along the way it has become used as an intimidation factor and as a “cover” for the sound of the ball coming off the opponents strings. I don’t like it anymore than you do but I can’t see it going away as it’s too hard to either insist it stop, or police it.
