Anti-grunting measures on the tennis court could soon be served up for young players, in a bid by the Women's Tennis Association to shush next-generation talent before they pick up the distracting habit. The WTA is reviving talk of equipping officials with a 'grunt-o-meter,' a hand-held instrument that would allow umpires to dock female players who shriek too loudly during play.
Grunting during women's tennis matches was mostly unheard of until former world No. 1 player Monica Seles broke onto the tournament scene in the mid-1990s and made it popular. Since then, there has been a dramatic rise in on-court grunting. The tennis association plans to teach junior players not to imitate offending tennis idols such as Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova - whose loud wails have become so notorious that they've been dubbed tennis 'scream queens.'
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