"I don't feel why they are singling me out... I never done it on purpose" - When Monica Seles lamented about being scrutinized for her grunting
1992 was a dominant year for Monica Seles, with the former World No. 1 winning the first two Slams of the year at the Australian Open and the French Open. Seles defeated Mary Joe Fernandez in the final of the former and Steffi Graf in the Roland Garros final.
At Wimbledon, Seles reached the final, but not without controversy. Starting from the quarterfinals against Nathalie Tauziat, her on-court grunting came under a lot of scrutiny, with opponents complaining that it was excessive and distracting.
Seles went on to lose in the final at SW19 to Graf, following which she finished as the runner-up at her next two tournaments as well - the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles and the Canadian Open.
The nine-time Slam champion went into the US Open under a cloud of uncertainty, despite being the defending champion at Flushing Meadows. Speaking at her press conference after her opening-round win over Audra Keller, Seles was asked if the scrutiny over her grunting was getting to the point that it was "ridiculous."
The former Yugoslav answered in the affirmative, stating that she was not the only grunter on tour and that she was being singled out for some unfathomable reason. Seles asserted that grunting had always been a part of her game and that she was trying not to think about it too much during her matches.
"I think it is because I am not the only one. I don't feel why they are singling me out, and then when people bring on the court a gruntometer, it has to get to the point that you got to laugh at it. You can't take it seriously," Monica Seles said.
"It has been part of my game. I told myself, basically after Wimbledon, if you do it, that is great, Monica; if you don't do it, that is great. And I mean, I am not thinking about it at all. I hope I will be go on with the whole year," she added.
Monica Seles emphasized that she has been grunting on the court since she was 12 years old, and couldn't understand why it had suddenly started becoming an issue only from that year's Wimbledon.
Seles also asserted that it was not something she did on purpose. She added that her grunting was not a factor that decided whether she won or lost matches.
"It has been part of me since I was 12 when I played Carrie Cunningham in one of the finals and I started doing that. Since then, it has been always with me each year at Wimbledon. It has been big issue except last year I didn't play," Monica Seles said.
"Then again this year, probably even a bigger issue because of the number one player, it has been part of my game. I never done it on purpose. I never thought I won or lost matches because of my grunting. I still felt that it shouldn't get so much attention, But I guess it does," she added.
"If the other player starts grunting, automatically I do start -- I am doing it unconsciously" - Monica Seles
Monica Seles further said that having watched a few tapes, she had come to realize that she never grunted during practice - even if she was playing very well against male players whom she wanted to play well against.
From that, Seles inferred that her grunting was unconscious and that she started doing it if the other player did it as well, which often turned out to be the case during her competitive matches.
"I had watch a few tapes back a year ago, or about 7, 8 months ago when I was playing a lot of different people practicing, and it is funny in practice I never grunted even when I was playing probably the best tennis against male players who I really wanted to play well," Monica Seles said.
"Not to prove anything, but to play well against them, and I was not grunting, I still think it is just, you know, most of the times if the other player starts grunting, automatically I do start -- I am doing it unconsciously. I had do think it is when I am hitting, it is just I am doing it, but I never done it on purpose," she added.