# "Orgasmic" tennis players-gotten out of hand? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 30, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518 "2009-06-30T21:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/21 "2009-07-01T19:20:46Z")
I friggen hate it. It distracts me as a watcher of tennis, and makes me not want to watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/22 "2009-07-01T19:42:26Z")
Okay, I just listened to both audio links provided, and that? Is utterly, utterly forced, false, and unnecessary. Is it an intimidation tactic, or a distraction, or just an attention-getting device? I don’t know, and frankly, don’t care. SHUT UP. You don’t have to be utterly silent when hitting a hard shot, naturally in strenuous situations you’ll vocalize somewhat, but quite being such an obvious prima-donna. ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/23 "2009-07-01T23:23:46Z")
[Shriek and a half.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gs6WTJExYg) ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/24 "2009-07-02T00:06:38Z")
> [@SmashTheState](#): > > Okay, I’ve been called a liar once too many times around here. Here are some citations concerning the extremely well-known, well-documented, instinctive use of the Valsalva maneuver for increasing abdominal stiffness when engaged in strenuous activity – such as shovelling snow – and its resultant link to heart attacks. > > - [Exercise Physiology for Health, Fitness, and Performance](http://books.google.ca/books?id=gRrp3yphhC0C&pg=PT395&lpg=PT395&dq=valsalva+maneuver+snow+shoveling&source=bl&ots=En23e590-n&sig=SAJj-gj9IpwoqObnVwCDEjlt3lE&hl=en&ei=Cn9LSpyIOpXONauvqZ8B&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1), Sharon Plowman, Denise L Smith > > - [Differences in cardio-respiratory responses to snow shoveling and shovel performance between elderly males and females](http://www.seppyo.org/~bgr/23/BGR23P41.pdf), Bulletin of Glaciological Research > > - [“Killer Snow”, Family Health Guide](https://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/fhgupdate/U/U5.shtml#killerSnow), Harvard Medical School > > - [“PULMONARY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION”, Movement Science 340 workbook](http://www.umich.edu/~exphysio/mvs.340/WorkBook%20Chapters/CH12.DOC), University of Michigan > > I found these citations (and hundreds just like them) through the difficult and complex means of typing “valsalva maneuver shoveling snow” into Google. I can see why you’d have found it much easier to just accuse me of making it up out of whole cloth, what with researching it being such a difficult task. None of those sources support what you said, though. The Harvard link says > [@](#): > > Without knowing it, shovelers sometimes perform a version of the Valsalva maneuver, bearing down as they would during a bowel movement while holding their breath. Waiting to exhale while straining like that can lead to abrupt changes in your heartbeat and blood pressure. Which is what I said. The Bulletin of Glaciological Research says > [@](#): > > The higher correlation coe$cient between shov- > A positive significant correlation (r􏰁\*.10/, p􏰂 > _._+) was found between the shovel load and the snow > mass. These results are consistent with previous fin- > dings (Suda et al., +33\*). Although this strategy may > be advantageous to attain higher performance for > elderly people, may increase the risk of heart attack > induced by increase of systolic blood pressure trig- > gered by Valsalva maneuver of isometric contraction > and exposure to cold environment as pointed out by > Franklin et al. (+33/). Which I’m not sure what to make of. The Exercise Physiology for Health site says the Valsalva Maneuver is a factor in increased myocardial oxygen demand and a factor in a rise in blood pressure. I’ll take back the claim about heart attacks, since it is a factor when shovelling, but the Valsalva Maneuver itself doesn’t increase power and nothing in your cites shows that. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/25 "2009-07-02T00:24:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I can understand grunting at times when you’re playing hours and hours of competitive tennis. But with the women in particular it’s definitely forced, possibly coached, and in some cases it’s an intimidation tactic. This gets debated periodically and I’m not sure anything will ever get done about it, but with Michelle Larcher de Brito out there, there’s a new case in point. She’s ridiculously loud, and shrieks even when she’s not hitting the ball particularly hard. You can see her vocalizing on YouTube, but you probably shouldn’t watch at work. Gads! Thanks to you I looked her up. Reminds me of a toy rifle I had as a kid that made spring-loaded riccochet sounds when you pulled the trigger. 😃 [Link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-7WLIqa2M0) (NSFW and utterly ridiculous.) ---
**Author:** ![abbeytxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@abbeytxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abbeytxs)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/26 "2009-07-02T01:27:41Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [Chris Evert weighs in](http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=4293867): > > "Steffi Graf hit the ball a ton and she didn’t grunt. There were a lot of players, hard-hitting players, and you never heard a peep out of them. > > “I don’t understand the philosophy of it.” > > I agree that’s it’s distracting-seems like an affectation as opposed to anything which really gives you a significant edge. Some of the “grunts” are so over the top that I can’t help but chuckle when I hear one. And to be fair yes some men do the same thing (tho typically not at the top of their lungs). Yes, Yes, YES, OH GOD YES!!! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/27 "2009-07-02T11:31:41Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Okay, I just listened to both audio links provided, and that? Is utterly, utterly forced, false, and unnecessary. Is it an intimidation tactic, or a distraction, or just an attention-getting device? I don’t know, and frankly, don’t care. SHUT UP. I’d like to know if she’s really always been this loud. She started getting a lot of attention during the French Open, but she’d received a few entries into big events before that and I don’t remember hearing about her. Maybe it was seen as less of an attention getter or maybe she was just playing on outer courts and not being taped, but it’s odd. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/28 "2009-07-02T18:04:52Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > [Link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-7WLIqa2M0) (NSFW and utterly ridiculous.) Sounds like she is rhythmically kicking a dog :eek:. If that’s legal, would it be equally okay to yell “psyche!” at every swing? ---
**Author:** ![abbeytxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@abbeytxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abbeytxs)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518/29 "2009-07-03T21:54:59Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Sounds like she is rhythmically kicking a dog :eek:. > > If that’s legal, would it be equally okay to yell “psyche!” at every swing? Nope. Talking during a point is considered a hindrance. It usually results in a warning for the first offense and a loss of point for any further offense. Shrieking and grunting are up to the discretion of the umpire. So far, no umpires are giving warnings for it, so the players are getting away with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasmic-tennis-players-gotten-out-of-hand/501518.md?page=1)