Women’s tour says it is developing plan to ‘drive excessive grunting’ out of tennis

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Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot during a first round women\'s singles match against Anastasia Rodionova of Australia at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Monday, June 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

WIMBLEDON, England – The WTA says it is working with Grand Slam tournaments and the International Tennis Federation to “drive excessive grunting” out of tennis.

In a statement, the women’s professional tour says it is developing a “sport-wide plan” to keep future players from grunting by educating them and instituting rule changes.

The WTA had said in January it was looking at ways to deter players from grunting, noting then that “some fans find it bothersome.”

WTA spokesman Andrew Walker declined Wednesday at Wimbledon to provide specifics of the plan or make CEO Stacey Allaster available for an interview. USA Today reported the plan includes developing a device for umpires to measure grunting during matches, and a rule to set limits on how much noise is acceptable.

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Abbey Westbury

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