Australian Open crowd mocks Aryna Sabalenka’s grunting

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty pulled off a close victory in the Australian Open, but her supporters weren’t the loudest thing on court.

The 21-year-old was up against notorious Belarusian shrieker Aryna Sabalenka, whose loud and prolonged grunting after every shot was widely criticised.

Fed up with umpires not taking her to task for the distracting noise, the Melbourne crowd openly mocked her from the stands.

  

Belorussian player Aryna Sabalenka was widely criticised for her loud shrieking after every hit in her Australian Open match against Ashleigh Barty

Tennis fans had such a go at her the umpire took the unusual step of demanding they ‘please not scream’ during rallies to ‘show courtesy for the players’.

The irony of the official’s request only emboldened the crowd to mimic Sabalenka’s shrieks louder, while Barty shook her head disapprovingly.

Thousands watching at home, including other tennis stars, were also displeased with the ‘noise pollution’ some claimed amounted to cheating. 

‘Nice player Sabalenka but something needs to b done about her noise and grunting on court! @WTA change channel,’ former doubles great Todd Woodbridge said.

‘I always enjoy watching the tennis… but if this Sabalenka doesn’t stop screaming, I don’t know if I can continue!’ women’s Big Bash cricketer Lea Tahuhu said. 

Tennis fans had such a go at her the umpire took the unusual step of demanding they 'please not scream' during rallies to 'show courtesy for the players'

The irony of the official's request only emboldened the crowd to mimic Sabalenka's shrieks louder, while Barty shook her head disapprovingly

The crowd openly mocked Sabalenka from the stands, causing the umpire (L) to ironically insist they ‘stop screaming’ and Barty to shake her head disapprovingly (R)

Barty took her opponent's noise in her stride, coming back from losing the first set to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours

Barty took her opponent’s noise in her stride, coming back from losing the first set to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours

‘I wore out the mute button watching Ash Barty play dreadful screecher Aryna Sabalenka,’ another tennis fan wrote.

Many claimed Sabalenka’s noise was not the usual ‘effort grunting’ of many other players, instead coming well after she hit the ball and aimed at distracting Barty.

‘I don’t know how many times this girl has grunted into Barty’s swing, but man it’s really getting to me. It’s clearly affecting her play,’ fellow Australian Open competitor Tennys Sandgren said.

‘It’s totally unacceptable the amount of ‘noise’ coming out of Aryna Sabalenka’s mouth as she hits most of her shots,’ sport radio host Adam White said.

‘It must be a distraction to Ash Barty. It’s ruining the match.’

Barty said her coach watched Sabalenka's matches and prepared her for the auditory onslaught

Barty said her coach watched Sabalenka’s matches and prepared her for the auditory onslaught

Fellow sports stars including former doubles great Todd Woodbridge, women's Big Bash cricketer Lea Tahuhu, and fellow Australian Open competitor Tennys Sandgren criticised her

Fellow sports stars including former doubles great Todd Woodbridge, women’s Big Bash cricketer Lea Tahuhu, and fellow Australian Open competitor Tennys Sandgren criticised her

Another fan said her grunting was ‘deliberate and inconsistently jarring, as he observed ‘what Sabalenka did last night appeared more calculated’.

‘Bad sport Sabalenka for intentionally cheating. Well played crowd for not accepting it,’ another annoyed fan wrote.

Other viewers made a joke of it, writing: ‘Watched a bit of the Australian screaming championships yesterday. Sabalenka and Sharapova outstanding.’

Tennis has a hindrance rule that includes noise, but it wasn’t enforced during Tuesday night’s match.

Barty took her opponent’s noise in her stride, coming back from losing the first set to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours.

Thousands watching at home, including other tennis stars, were also displeased with the 'noise pollution' some claimed amounted to cheating

Thousands watching at home, including other tennis stars, were also displeased with the ‘noise pollution’ some claimed amounted to cheating

Many claimed Sabalenka's noise was not the usual 'effort grunting' of many other players, instead coming well after she hit the ball and aimed at distracting Barty

Many claimed Sabalenka’s noise was not the usual ‘effort grunting’ of many other players, instead coming well after she hit the ball and aimed at distracting Barty

Other viewers made a joke of it, writing: 'Watched a bit of the Australian screaming championships yesterday. Sabalenka and Sharapova outstanding'

Other viewers made a joke of it, writing: ‘Watched a bit of the Australian screaming championships yesterday. Sabalenka and Sharapova outstanding’

The Queenslander said her coach watched Sabalenka’s matches and prepared her for the auditory onslaught.

‘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,’ she said.

‘It wasn’t anything like that. It was just part and parcel. I think if something that small can irritate you, that’s a bigger issue in itself. 

‘I knew it was coming. I was prepared for it. I mean, obviously in the first couple of games, you get used to it.’

Barty will play 70th-ranked Italian Camila Giorgi in the second round on Thursday. 



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk