Connors says he may not have been the first player to grunt while playing, but he was the highest-profile player to do so. It wasn’t meant as a distraction, but he says it was simply the outcome of how he’d been taught to breathe on the court. Connors says that, although he tried to breathe mostly through his nose, opening his mouth allowed him to exhale sharply as he exploded into a shot. Grunting has become so prevalent in recent year in women’s tennis that the Women’s Tennis Association is now working to eliminate the habit among up-and-coming players.
MIKE GROLL/AP
