“I will not grunt for you. Watch my matches — I grunt a lot” - Lys, Jovic, Dimitrov, Paul and more share bemusing confessions at Indian Wells

Some of the top players on the ATP and WTA Tour took a break from competing in the Indian Wells tennis tournament to have a ride in the confession cart. Grigor Dimitrov, Tommy Paul, Jakub Mensik, Zizou Bergs, Denis Shapovalov, Iva Jovic, Eva Lys and Coco Vandeweghe all took a trip with some confessions being leaked along the way.

Dimitrov unveiled his middle name, with a familiar note to it. “My name is actually Grigor Dimitrov Dimitrov,” he smiled. “My password is my name.” Lys, Mensik and Jovic got a free pass out of that question with the fact that they do not have middle names.

Bergs had a female trend with his name. “My name is just Zizou Maria Josefina," he laughed. "Don’t ask me why I have two female names in my name, but everybody just calls me Zizou.”

Former American tennis player Vandeweghe also has a Belgian surname, with an interesting fact. “In Belgium it’s pronounced Vandeweghe. Fun fact — it’s actually missing a letter. It was originally spelled V-A-N-D-E-N-W-E-G-H-E, but one ‘N’ was dropped because it cost an extra dollar to send posts back then if the name had 13 letters, so they shortened it to 12.”

When on court, there are several tennis players who grunt when they hit the ball, sometimes out of instinct when they whack the ball with quite the ferocity. Jovic explained the science behind it. “The general mechanical concept is that we exhale. Some people take it to the next level where it’s like an intimidation factor.”

Both Paul and Dimitrov were on the same boat when they said that players grunt to let out some air. Lys had a different view. “Tennis players grunt because we’re trying to hit the ball as fast as possible. Why do people in the gym grunt when it gets tough? That’s why we do it.”

Bergs gave his view on what was 'next-level grunting.' “What’s nice about the grunt is if you hit a great shot in a full stadium and you know it’s a winner — you go ‘wahey!’ and the crowd gets into it. That’s max-level grunting.”

Jovic, Bergs and Mensik were good sports and offered to share their best grunt impression, albiet maybe not to maximum capacity. Paul and Lys, on the other hand, were not interested. “I will not grunt for you. Watch my matches — I grunt a lot,” Lys said.

An awkward question for many, but expertly avoided by Mensik. “I’m glad I don’t have a sister because I don’t like tennis players,” he bluntly said. Shapovalov went for a fellow Canadian to put his trust in, specifically world number nine Felix Auger-Aliassime. “I would probably go with Felix — if he wasn’t married.”

Vandeweghe hopped across the pond to Europe with a former Wimbledon finalist catching her eye. “I would like a nice guy. One of the nicest guys on tour is Matteo Berrettini.” Paul was quick to agree with her answer.

Whether based on tennis or not, there were to be some controversial opinions dished out by the players who continued to be driven around in their Confession carts. Paul started it strong with a hugely split opinion about rap. “I think rap is dead. I used to love rap music, and I think it’s completely dead. I will not apologise for saying that,” he said, sticking to the unapologetic theme.

Lys was a more straightforward answer. “People should take themselves less seriously because a lot of people have a stick up their a**. They should really just relax.” Fellow WTA talent Jovic went to food with her opinion. “Beets are not good. Anybody who thinks beets taste good is wrong. They taste bitter and like something that came from underground.”

Dimitrov based his on tennis, in theme on the split opinions of the new Dunlop balls at Indian Wells this tournament. “Tennis should use the same balls at every tournament.” While this was harmless, Vandeweghe tried to make a number of people unemployed. “Umpires are useless on tour. We already have electronic line calling — we could have a robot call the score.”

Bergs sent a straight message to his partner, hoping that she would take a hint. “My unapologetic opinion is that my girlfriend should help me out more with cooking. It’s not always me — she should help me more.”

To end on a positive note, the players were told to look into the camera and send a positive message down the lens to the thousands of people watching to help and motivate them. Jovic kicked things off:

Lys added a creative spark to her affirmation. “Water your own garden and the butterflies will come.” She had more. “You’re doing awesome. Sometimes it’s tough, sometimes it’s easy, but just keep pushing — you’ve got this.” She had more: “Everything is working out in my favour," and “You are worthy of everything.” Finally: “Whatever good thing happens to you, you deserve it. Don’t get imposter syndrome — I get it sometimes.”

Dimitrov continued the positivity. “The biggest flex is to always be yourself. Make sure you do that every day.”

"Wake up with a smile and your whole day will be filled with love," Vandeweghe commented. Paul could not get over the fact that they were in 'Tennis Paradise. “You guys are in tennis paradise. We’re all blessed to be playing such a great sport.” Bergs concluded the video: “Hey fans watching — you’re amazing for watching this. Stay awesome. Hashtag: you can do it.”