The queen of scream Victoria Azarenka has hit out at questions about her grunting during her Wimbledon quarter-final loss to Serena Williams on Tuesday.
Azarenka, who squandered a first set advantage to be sent packing out of the All England Club, was asked about the volume of both her and Williams' grunting in the press conference.
The question didn't sit well with the Belarusian, who said she was sick of talking about it.
"You know, I'm so tired of these questions all the time," said Azarenka, the ex-girlfriend of singer Redfoo.
"It's so in a way annoying because guys grunt. I was practicing next to Nadal, and he grunts louder than me, and nobody notice that. Why? I don't understand why. Because the women on the court both trying their hardest and giving everything they have, and they make a noise. Is that a problem of tennis?
The 25-year-old didn't stop there, calling for an end to the questions about grunting and for journalists to focus on the tennis rather than trivial matters.
"It happens in every sport. So I think maybe it's time to just put it aside and not talk about it all the time because this is not what is important when there are two players playing on the centre court," she said.
"We got to look a little bit past that and say, oh, my God, Serena played 24 aces. Did any of the guys do it maybe in that match? Look at the good stuff. Stop bringing this ridiculous stuff. Let's put aside the noise and how she looks, and look at the game. The game proved itself today."
Williams was asked a similar question and admitted the grunting from the opposite side of the court didn't bother her.
However when journalists continued to ask about it, she refused to answer.
"I'm done with controversy," Williams said.
"I can't. I'm tired. I have to do ice bath. If you have any other questions, I'm cool, but, you know, I'm done with that."
The question was also asked to Sharapova, who is arguably the loudest on the women's tour, but she was in no mood to talk about the issue she's been asked to delve into for more than a decade.
"I have nothing to say," Sharapova, who defeated American Coco Vandeweghe in three sets, said.
"It's nothing new. It's not a new question, so..."
It was reported that spectators may have been laughing at Williams and Azarenka during their match because of the volume of their screams during rallies.
"I think they might have had a little too many of Pimm's or whatever," Azarenka said.
"When people are drinking, every time the announcer say, 'make sure you hydrate yourself', I think he means with water, not with alcohol.
"So if they were laughing, that means in a way we put on a good show. For me, it doesn't matter. I'm there to play my best and try my hardest, and that's what I'm going to do. That's what Serena does. That's what every other woman out there is doing."
