
Rohrabacher’s roar: Annoying or entertaining?
No player can compete with Rachel Rohrabacher in the vocal enthusiasm department.
She's completely unafraid to yell a vivacious “Come on!” in the middle of any women's doubles or mixed doubles match to fire herself up.
“I think it’s really good for the players and good for the game, to be honest,” said Rohrabacher. “It makes the game entertaining.”
Apparently, she was just as vocal on the tennis court in college, so displaying this kind of competitiveness just comes naturally.
Players being vocal on the court has always spurred quite the conversation.
Grunting in pickleball has caused many debates and visibly frustrated certain opponents.
For example, Ben Johns shushed Rohrabacher at MLP Washington D.C. because he was annoyed by her high-pitched “Yeah!” after a good point.
“When I first started playing pickleball and screaming ‘Come on!’ everybody was really upset about it and thought I was rude,” said Rohrabacher. “But, it has nothing to do with them. It’s for myself only, and if somebody else is annoyed by it, then it’s a personal problem for them. I’m not doing it to annoy them, I’m doing it to hype myself up.”
It’s incredibly common for pros to do that. Anna Leigh Waters frequently yells “Right now AL, right now!” before a point. And she also loves to holler after a hard-fought point, too.
Lea Jansen also loves to shout “Yeah!” after a good point as well.
Tyson McGuffin also loves to celebrate with major volume.
For his part, Julian Arnold frequently screams “Andiamo!” during his matches.
That’s what makes their matches an exciting watch.
Sure, it’s impressive when Johns remains calm and collected, but when it comes to entertainment value, the players cheering and celebrating makes things extra interesting.
When you’re up against these loud players, though, I see how their cheers could be a little irritating.
But, isn’t that a key element of pro pickleball? To be resilient no matter which opponent is across the court from you? The resiliency to play your game despite the noise speaks volumes.
Whatever your opinion on the subject is, there's no denying that Rohrabacher's self-talk is paying dividends with eight gold medals to her name and a No. 4 ranking in women’s doubles.
It's a successful strategy for her, to say the least.
What do you think of Rohrabacher’s roars on the court? Let us know your thoughts on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
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