BY AMY REYNOLDS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The Women’s Tennis Association announced on Tuesday, June 26, that there will soon be a crackdown on players who make excessive shrieks, grunts and shouts as they hit the ball during matches.

“It’s time for us to drive excessive grunting out of the game for future generations,” WTA CEO Stacey Allaster told the publication, according to CBS News.

In fact, umpires would be required to carry a hand-held device that measures the level of sound the player makes and see whether it exceeds a level that is still to be determined by the WTA.

However, the new rule will not affect the current generation of women tennis players, such as Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

After consulting with many coaches, officials determined that it would be unfair to force current players to change the way they play, stating that it would drastically change their performance, FOX News reported.

In addition, the rule will not affect men at all.

In January, the WTA said that it was trying to find ways to deter the excessive grunting, stating that “some fans find it bothersome,” according to The Huffington Post.

“I think there are some players who do it on purpose,” Caroline Wozniacki, runner-up in the 2009 US Open, said in October. “They don’t do it in practice and then they come into the match and they grunt. I think (officials) could definitely cut it.”

No timetable has been set to determine when the new rule will apply in matches.