Somehow, it's September. And very soon, all those unceasing summer evenings of rum and wonder will give way to the cold winds and emo sweaters.
Soon, the familiar sounds of the season will return: the crisp crash of helmets and pads on Sundays, the muted shatter of kids jumping into piles of leaves, the metallic sound of the ax coming down on NBC's fall lineup.
But in this first week of September, as the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament rages up in Flushing, one of summer's signature sounds is still around. We're not talking about the ball ricocheting off the court at the speed of a sneeze (look it up!) or the animated yet polite clapping of the crowd.
No, we're talking about the grunts, those guttural expressions of power and emotion that tennis players--especially female tennis players--let out when they wallop the ball. Wimbledon officials have pledged to crack down on on-court grunting because it's gotten so out of hand, but we're proud to stand up in defense of volume. So here it is, our tribute to the grunt.
+ Maria Sharapova does a number of things very well, from modeling to pitching products to, ya know, playing tennis. And a talent this booming has a voice to match it, turning out grunts that have gone as high as 110 decibels.
+ If there's anything better than Maria Sharapova, it's a lot of Maria Sharapova.
+ When the whole hullabaloo about grunting happened at Wimbledon last year, Michelle Larcher de Brito stood near the center of it all. Here's why:
+ Monica Seles, the early '90s phenom, once inspired a writer to measure her on-court noises with a Gruntometer. He claimed she registered 93 decibels. Here, she takes on Venus Williams in a 2002 match. Consider it a passing of the torch.
+ Venus and Serena Williams have individually been accused of being a little too vocal while on the court. Together? Fuggedaboutit.
+ In case you were in the market for a grunting cover band.
+ In 2009, this girl was banned from playing in youth tournaments because she made too much noise--furthering the stereotype of Australians as fun-hating nuns.
+ Grunting gets contagious.
+ And finally, to wrap up, a mashup of the ladies and guys.