'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the Story?
The Australian Open took off on 10 January, 2018 and has since then been in the news for various reasons. One of the first players to come under the scanner was Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus who was mocked for her on-court grunting during her match against Ashleigh Barty.
The 19-year-old received a lot of flak from fans in the stands who decided to imitate her vocal expressions out of disgruntlement.
In case you didn't know...
The Belarusian isn't the first to come under the radar for her vocal game. The likes of Maria Sharapova and Serena and Venus Williams, as well as male players such as Nadal and Djokovic, have also faced the brunt of their game style. There has always been an ongoing and unsolvable debate with regard to this as it is often seen as a distraction to the opponent.
The heart of the matter
Sabalenka lost to her opponent in her first match at the Australian Open, while her on-court shrieks led to constant mockery from the viewers in the stands. The crowd imitated her between points until the referee had to ask them to quieten down. "Ladies and gentlemen please, during the rally, do not scream,” she said, only to face a louder mockery. This led to a faulty service by Sabalenka.
Her gracious opponent, however, seemed to be unfazed by Sabalenka and instead expressed her displeasure at the crowd's behaviour. “We knew it was coming,” Barty said. “I hadn’t seen a lot of her matches but my coach had watched vision. He was aware it was coming. A lot of players grunt. A lot of players don’t grunt. It’s just the way they are, the way they play. For me, it wasn’t a distraction. It wasn’t anything like that. It was just part and parcel. I knew it was coming.”
Even though Barty claimed to have not been affected by it, others were, and they took to Twitter to express their feelings.
One fan also pointed out a comparison with an incident that happened with Maria Sharapova, more than a decade back.
What's next?
The Australian Open has surely brought with it a series of dramatic events this year, with the fans going berserk over Nike's choice of colour and a potentially new Maria Sharapova in the circuit. Here's yet to see what the tournament has in store next.
Author's take
As Ashleigh Barty correctly pointed out that every player has their style of playing, whether it is disturbing or not, one gets used to it. However, the reaction of the crowd did not seem to be very dignified towards the 19-year-old.
