“Men grunted many times before, you had Jimmy Connors and nobody said a single word” – When Monica Seles lamented about double standards towards women

Monica Seles previously brought attention to the unequal treatment of female tennis players when it comes to grunting, drawing a comparison to the way male players are treated. She used Jimmy Connors as evidence to support her argument.

The media was informed by Seles in 2009:

“I can only speak for myself. In my case, it was a natural breathing. If you look back at tapes as a nine-year-old girl I was doing the exact same thing. I think it’s unfortunate, because men grunted many times before. You had Jimmy Connors, and nobody said a single word about it. So I think females — a lot of people, it’s hard to accept when they’re strong out there.”

“For me it was part of who I played; same way as I play two hands on both sides. My goal when I stepped out there on the court was just to crush that ball in whatever best form I could do that, and that was the sound that came out when I crushed the ball.”