Frazzled fans mock shrieker Sabalenka

MELBOURNE - Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka are well known for being loud, and now tennis has a new shrieker and grunter.

Rising Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka was so loud at the Australian Open on Tuesday, the crowd started imitating her.

Her screeching got so grating in her first-round clash with local hope Ashleigh Barty that the irritated crowd inside Rod Laver Arena began mocking the 19-year-old.

That prompted the chair umpire to admonish them, with the irony not lost on spectators, who jeered louder in response.

Twitter also lit up in response with former player Todd Woodbridge joining the critics.

"Nice player #Sabalenka, but something needs to be done about her noise and grunting on court!" he wrote.

Nicole Pratt, the head of women's tennis in Australia, agreed it was a problem.

"The player does rely on the sound of the ball coming off the racket," she said.

"And probably more the issue is when players grunt or scream for an extended period of time because then that is impeding on your hitting time and hitting space.

"There is a bit of an issue when it does get extended."

Grunting has long been a divisive issue in tennis, with Russian star Sharapova routinely derided for it.

Britain's tabloid press have even utilized a "gruntometer" during Wimbledon to measure the often ear-splitting shrieks. It is not just women who can get loud. The likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal can also be noisy vocalists on court.

Australia's Herald Sun newspaper ran an online poll on Wednesday on whether the grunting had gone too far. So far, 94 percent of respondents voted "yes".

Barty appeared unimpressed by the crowd's behavior but managed to shut out the noise in her come-from-behind 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4 win.

She said she knew what to expect, having been warned by her coach.

"He was aware it was coming. A lot of players grunt. A lot of players don't grunt," she said.

"It's just the way they are, the way they play. For me, it wasn't a distraction."

Agence France-presse