Source: ONE Sport
Portuguese tennis player, Michelle Larcher de Brito is causing quite a stir on the court as the noise she emits when hitting the ball can sometimes be heard up to three courts away.
Her decibel level has not been officially recorded, but she was so loud during her third round clash against opponent Aravane Rezai at the French Open in May that Rezia complained to the umpire.
The sound of women's tennis stars like that of Maria Sharapova, the Williams' sisters and Elena Dementieva is nothing new - in fact the trend started with former World number one Monia Seles whose grunts were reported to have reached 93 decibels.
But as the start of Wimbledon gets closer - tennis officials are now looking at grinding the grunting to a halt.
Officials can already award a point against grunters if they are deemed to have hindered an opponent's performance, but before they can officially ban the noise as part of their code of conduct, they must first decide if it is a natural reaction to hitting the ball with force or if it is done to purposely put an opponent off their game.
It is believed for some players, grunting is an integral part of their game.
"The timing of when they actually grunt helps them with the rhythm of how they're hitting and how they're pacing things," sports psychologist Louise Deeley told The Guardian in 2005.
"It may be that their perception is that if they grunt, they are hitting it harder. It's going to give you confidence and a sense of being in control of your game."
What has drawn attention to Larcher de Britio, and a call for a review of the style of play, though is not only the volume of her shrieks, but also their persistence.
"This is the main issue in her case and makes her different from those who have made noise before." Bill Babcock, Grand Slam director at the ITF said.
"The noise extends into the hitting preparation time of her opponent, and that creates problems.
But Larcher disagrees.
"I don't think it would be fair if you're not allowed to shriek or scream or grunt.
"It's part of the game," Larcher de Brito is quoted as saying in The Daily Telegraph (UK).
What is interesting is that de Brito is coached at Florida's Nick Bollettieri academy, which not only produced former French Open champion Seles, but also Sharapova - currently the loudest grunter of them.
Sharapova's screams have been recorded at an incredible 101 decibels - just eight decibels less than a lions roar and akin to the volume of a small aircraft taking flight.
But renowned coach Bollettieri insists he does not encourage his players to make noise, because of the effect it can have on their opponents - but does believe it is time for a change.
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