Grunting has now become a common occurrence in the tennis world! What’s grunting? Well, grunting in tennis is basically a loud noise made by some players while hitting their shots. Some of those noises have sometimes been described as “screaming” or “shrieking.” It’s highly distracting and borderline irritating for the opponents. However, there are no rules against it. Hence players continue to do it. Some of the grunts are even more than 100 dB. Just to get an idea, a lion’s grunt is averaged at 110 decibels! In women’s tennis, Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sharapova, and Serena Williams‘ grunts have made the headlines quite a few times, but who is the loudest among them?

Tennis legend, Serena Williams’ grunts were once recorded to be 88.9 dB, and guess what? That’s even more than her sister Venus Williams‘ grunts (85 dB). Her grunts became louder with her aggression on the court during her playing days. We’ve often seen her speaking about her infamous grunts during her interview, but who’s leading the race of grunts between Maria Sharapova and Aryna Sabalenka?

Well, interestingly Maria Sharapova’s grunts have reached sounds as loud as 109 dB. Her highest recorded grunt was somewhere around 103 dB while the record stands at 109 dB. On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka had once recorded grunts of somewhere around 90 dB. So, apparently it seems, the Russian might have a clear edge in comparison to the other two when it comes to the ‘War of Grunts.’

Aryna Sabalenka’s frequent grunts following her powerful shots have been the talk of the town for quite some time now. Has she ever opened up on this topic before, though? Well, speaking on her grunts she once said, “Honestly, I don’t even hear myself when I am playing.” What does the other have to say about their infamous grunts, though?

Well, previously while addressing the issue of grunting, Maria Sharapova revealed that it’s nothing new and that she has always dealt with questions of these kinds during her press conferences. “I have nothing to say. It’s nothing new. It’s not a new question,” the Russian said in a previous interview.

On the other hand, Serena Williams was also very much known for having loud grunts while playing tennis. Do you know she even attributes her grunting to her admiration for former tennis star, Monica Seles? In 2023, during an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Seles revealed that she began grunting at a very young age. Talking about watching Seles do that, Serena Williams said, “So I grunt because growing up I liked this tennis player named Monica Seles and she grunts. She had this really cool grunt. It was like, ‘[grunt].’ And I loved that, I was like, ‘That’s so cool,’.”

She further added, “And so I literally would grunt because of her, and then it just became natural and then my grunt just became like a [grunt]. It was really loud.” Apart from Aryna Sabalenka, even Beatriz Haddad Maia, Maria Sakkari, Veronika Kudermetova, and Ons Jabeur are also known for their loud grunts. However, none of these players from the current generation made the headlines for their grunts as many times as Aryna Sabalenka!

What does the tennis world say about Aryna Sabalenka’s grunting during her matches?

Coming in as a 19-year-old at the 2018 AO, Aryna Sabalenka didn’t only make the headlines for her incredible brand of tennis but also for her loud grunts on the court. During her first-round match against Ashleigh Barty, we even saw the crowd mocking her grunts. After seeing this the chair umpire had to request the fans not to scream. “Ladies and Gentlemen please, during the rally, do not scream,” the umpire said at that time.

After that match, the head of Women’s Tennis Australia at that time, Nicole Pratt said, “The player does rely on the sound of the ball coming off the racket. And probably more the issue is when players grunt or scream for an extended period of time because then that is impeding on your hitting time and hitting space. There is a bit of an issue when it does get extended.” Even Todd Woodbridge was heard pointing out, “Nice player #Sabalenka but something needs to be done about her noise and grunting on court!!!!”

Has the player ever complained about Aryna Sabalenka‘s grunt? Well, Ons Jabeur once said, “She (Sabalenka) was screaming for both of us, I guess! I couldn’t even scream with her. It’s tough. It is true. I mean, that’s the thing about playing Aryna. She’s there. You know she’s there.” Even Coco Gauff had once called Aryna Sabalenka’s grunting a bit “distracting.” Different players use different methods to bring out their A-game during the matches. Can Aryna Sabalenka bring out her top game against Madison Keys in the final of the 2025 AO?