Letter: Sound success

David Justice (Letters, 30 June) complains about the objectionable utterances emanating from certain female tennis players when striking the ball.

He also suggests a method of eliminating this unsporting habit. Well, some 2,000 years ago this grunting while delivering a blow in sporting contests had been noted, commented on and, very importantly, explained. I quote the original Latin while providing, out of my natural generosity, a full translation of the comment, made by, I think, Pliny the Elder.

Ingemiscunt pugiles non quod doleant. "Boxers groan not because they are in pain, but because in uttering sounds all the body is put to the full stretch and the blow comes with greater force."

So Ms Sharapova cannot be accused of deliberately trying to put the wind up her opponent, though this may be a sort of not-unwelcome by-product on occasions.

Bob Smith

St Ninian's Way

Linlithgow