Wimbledon referee wants less noise

WIMBLEDON, England, June 20 (UPI) -- A longtime Wimbledon referee says that competitors in England's premiere tennis tournament should be penalized for grunting too loudly.

Alun Mills told the Mail that he believes coaches train young players to grunt and shriek to get opponents off their game.

"If I was playing an opponent making so much noise, I think I'd just laugh," he said. "But it's what young players are being coached to do."

Mills has been the referee in charge at Wimbledon for 22 years and is now retiring. He has also written an autobiography, "Lifting the Covers."

He said that umpires are near-powerless against noisy players unless they can prove that the player is making the noise on purpose.

The worst offenders appear to be from Russia and the United States. Defending champion Maria Sharapova's cries have been measured at more than 100 decibels, as noisy as a small airplane coming in for a landing.

Rounding out the top five are Serena Williams, at 88 decibels, followed by her sister Venus at 85, Lindsay Davenport, 84, and Elena Bovina, 81.