First it was Maria Sharapova and now Aryna Sabalenka has taken up the baton. The screams of some players during play continue to be a topic of debate in women’s tennis. Qinwen Zheng lashed out at Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday at the end of their quarter-final match at Roland Garros.
Zheng has hit out at the world number one, accusing her of disturbing her hitting: “How can you shout when you hit the ball and keep shouting when I hit it? We have to change the rule. Next time we play, I’ll shout when she hits too.”
Sharapova’s 105 decibels
In its day, at the 2009 Wimbledon edition, the noise produced by Sharapova at the moment of impact was measured and it was comparable to a small plane at the moment of landing (about 105 decibels).
The best Chinese tennis player is not impressed by Sabalenka’s powerful strokes: “My sparring partner is a boy and I’m sure he hits harder.”
Rafael Nadal, in his match with Lorenzo Sonego at Wimbledon 2022, called the Italian’s attention for prolonging the scream beyond his hitting. Subsequently, he admitted that he was wrong in the reprimand because, he said, “there are some codes that have to be respected.”
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