Ranpitsu

I am inclined to agree with Jenkins purely on the noise level (I’ve occasionally heard some loud male moaners) but couldn’t the shrieking/grunting be a competitive advantage in that it may intimidate their opponents?

Supposedly, such behavior occurs more often in the women’s game “because” when you grunt, when you breath at the contact point, you’re actually generating more velocity out of the racquet head, you’re more relaxed and you get power”, according to Dr. Jim Loehr, the CEO of LGE Performance Systems and adviser to Monica Seles who encouraged her to grunt since it “helps her to be more assertive in every aspect of her play”. (Bleacher Report)