What do you think of sports stars who shriek, grunt or yell out during play?

Doesn't bother me in the slightest. Strenuous activity often results in such a manner.

Most obvious in tennis. It shows that they are trying....

Self-centered. Pompous. Distracting. Irritating. I turn off the TV.

All started with martial arts and spread from there.

In the case of the male athletes it's like, shaddup, dude!

In the case of the female athletes it's sexy as hell, lol.

Like said above, it's nothing more than a spread of the idea of a 'kiai' from martial arts.

The key point is, as I've pointed out to my own son as I've taught him martial arts and weightlifting, is that the kiai is basically one of the variations of the valsava maneuver, which tightens the abdominal wall and provides for a more efficient transfer of generated power from the lower body to the upper body.

What's lost in the teaching is that it's not just a 'yell' or a 'grunt.' You don't 'engage your spirit.' In fact, there are many athletes and performers who don't even need to be vocal about it at all, but their 'kiai' is quiet because their engagement doesn't involve the vocal cords at all.

So if you're using it as an athlete in the transference of power, fine. More power to ya, not to be punny.

If you're just yelling without knowing why or without actually engaging the abdominal wall, then you're being a fool about it.

I don't care them at all. It's natural thing that you brace yourself to do something. Moreover, in badminton play for example, you are able to smash more strongly when you yell at the impact than do not. However, I don't think it good to say something violent for the other players or audiences. That's the manner.

I don't watch tennis, but wouldn't like the grunting. I've seen it of course, seems kind of foolish to me.

@GyGene You need to watch and listen to this, lol

Azarenka & Sharapova, two howlers on the court. Is this even legal? :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8AVVPEv5Fc