Michael Stich: It’s not the girls’ glamour I have a problem with, it’s the on-court cacophony

Michael Stich
23 Jun 2009

Okay, let's get one thing straight. I have taken a lot of stick since the weekend after a newspaper claimed I had said that women's only role at Wimbledon was selling sex. People back in my homeland of Germany were particularly upset that I could think such a thing. The truth is that I don't. If players enjoy being sex symbols then that is fair enough and entirely up to them.

Everyone is free to do whatever they want and if any female player wants to become known for something other than tennis, that is her choice.
I actually believe that the mix is good for the game, that the balance is right and it benefits tennis because it makes it more attractive for everyone.

Using glamour to promote sport is dangerous because athletes can become distracted by their image and not achieve the level of physical performance that is required.

But I promise you, I have never said women players are just in our sport to promote themselves as sex objects.

The Williams sisters are the perfect example of how players can do both. Serena models a little bit more than Venus but they still perform on the court and both of them are proven champions.

If the women's game does have a problem, it is not, in my opinion how the ladies promote themselves off the court, it is the noise some of them are making on it!

The current levels of “grunting” has simply become unacceptable and disturbing. The noise is damaging the sport as a spectacle and disrupts the enjoyment for those who pay good money to come and watch.

A television viewer can turn the volume off but, if you are sitting in the stands of the All England Club, you just cannot get away from it.

In some cases it has exceeded the point where you have to start thinking about the opponent and whether or not it is unfair.

Some players argue that they do it for rhythm, yet we have to draw the line.

What if someone said “I need to throw my racquet after every single mistake I make to help my rhythm” or that “I need to yell at the chair umpire to make me focus”. That is no justification for the noise whatsoever and I think it has become a habit and the players involved don't think about it.

A lot of these girls probably don't even realise they are doing it to the extent they are. They need to understand that fans will not want to sit through a tennis match for two hours and be expected to listen to such a racket.

It is difficult to know what to do about the situation.

Bringing in a rule is tough because it would be almost impossible to police because how would you determine how many times you are allowed to exceed a certain noise level?

It's up to the players to understand that they have a responsibility to the sport and the spectators.

Young Michelle Larcher De Brito is held up as the prime offender because she screams at 110 decibels. I did not see her game yesterday when she beat Klara Zakapalova 6-2, 7-5 but, from what I am told, the Portuguese girl turned the noise level down.

I have only ever seen the 16-year-old practise once in Liverpool and then she did not grunt at all, not one single time and I was watching for five minutes. So why does she grunt in matches? It just does not make sense.

Monica Seles was the first woman I can remember doing it and it has just gone on and on.

Coaches and parents need to be told to instruct these players to stop. The girls need to hear themselves on tape so they can understand how disturbing it is because they don't appear to be aware of it.

Again, for me the Williams sisters have the balance right. Both grunt from time to time but only when they are playing in a close match, when its very intense and they need an extra push.

Only then is it completely fair.

Michael Stich will be presenting on Radio 5 Live tomorrow at Wimbledon from 7pm tonight.