We, the undersigned, ask the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), along with any other associations connected to the playing of tennis at any professional level, to adopt a universal rule punishing male and female players who consistently and loudly grunt or shriek during play.

Players' grunting and shrieking, outside of genuine physical exertion during long or obviously physically taxing points, is disruptive to and can gain an unfair competitive advantage over other players because they can't judge the pace and spin of the ball as well because of the grunting and shrieking; and is disruptive to the fans' enjoyment of the matches in which the grunting and shrieking occurs, including fans at the matches and those watching or listening to the matches via electronic device.

The aforementioned associations will adopt a universal rule, called the "Excessive Noise Rule," or ENR, that will be designed like the time rule in tennis, with a graduated penalty system up to and including defaulting a player for repeated violations within a single match. The ENR will go into effect on January 1, 2015, giving all players time to make adjustments so that they will be in compliance with the ENR upon its enforcement on said date.