After gambling, drugs and match fixing, tennis is now dealing with a new problem - grunting.

Russia's Maria Sharapova came on to the tennis scene grunting like crazy, and today, some four years later, is looking to take the No. 1 women's ranking by a storm. Now read this baffling story.

A young girl Down Under in Australia who, like so many other young hopefuls around the globe, idolises Sharapova, has discovered at the age of nine that it doesn't pay to be too star-struck.

'Lauryn's parents are losing hope, because they say their daughter has been playing tennis since she was four and grunting is a natural part of her game'


Lauryn Edwards has been banned from playing tennis by her local club because, like Sharapova, she grunts. Now her shocked parents are seeking Tennis Australia's official help to get her back on the courts. The owners of the Mount Carmel Tennis Club, 30km north of Melbourne, have imposed a tough condition:  An assurance that Lauryn will remain silent on the court.

The youngster's parents are losing hope, because they say their daughter has been playing tennis since she was four and grunting is a natural part of her game. They claim that Lauryn doesn't do it to annoy her opponents. She simply has no control over it.  So now "Lauryn Sharapova" has another fight on her hands – this time away from the tennis court.

The grunting issue is not new to tennis. It is even older than Sharapova. Monica Seles, who retired from the game officially just a week ago, was the first loud grunter, and since then even male players have been known to "put out air" in a noisy way while hitting the ball.

Should tennis officials make a rule against it? That's a difficult call to make. Sometimes it can be annoying and even really cause "timing" problems. It is a known fact that the clearer you hear the moment of contact of ball on racket, the better you yourself time the ball.

But to try to give tennis umpires, who have their hands full as it is, the extra responsibility of deciding whose grunting is too loud or at an acceptable noise level, is unreasonable.