Sania Mirza

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Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza (35449409862).jpg
Mirza in 2017
Country (sports) India
Residence Hyderabad, India
Born 15 November 1986 (age 33)[1]
Mumbai, India
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Turned pro February 2003
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
College St. Mary's College
Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute
Prize money US$ 6,945,795
Singles
Career record 271–161 (62.7%)
Career titles 1 WTA, 14 ITF
Highest ranking No. 27 (27 August 2007)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 3R (2005, 2008)
French Open 2R (2007, 2011)
Wimbledon 2R (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009)
US Open 4R (2005)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games 1R (2008)
Doubles
Career record 496–215 (69.8%)
Career titles 42 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest ranking No. 1 (13 April 2015)
Current ranking No. 253 (3 February 2020)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open W (2016)
French Open F (2011)
Wimbledon W (2015)
US Open W (2015)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals W (2014, 2015)
Olympic Games 2R (2008)
Mixed doubles
Career titles 3
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open W (2009)
French Open W (2012)
Wimbledon QF (2011, 2013, 2015)
US Open W (2014)
Other mixed doubles tournaments
Olympic Games SF (2016)
Last updated on: 7 February 2020.
Sania Mirza (Hindustani pronunciation: [ˈsaːnɪaː ˈmɪrzaː]; born 15 November 1986)
is an Indian professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in the doubles
discipline, she has won six Grand Slam titles in her career.[3][4] From 2003 until
her retirement from singles in 2013, she was ranked by the WTA as India's No. 1
player in both the categories. Throughout her career, Mirza has established herself
as by far the most successful Indian women's tennis player ever and one of the
highest-paid and most high-profile athletes in the country.[5][6]

In her singles career, Mirza had notable wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera
Zvonareva, and Marion Bartoli, as well as former world No. 1s Martina Hingis,
Dinara Safina, and Victoria Azarenka. She is the highest-ranked female player ever
from India, peaking at world No. 27 in mid-2007. However, a major wrist injury
forced her to give up her singles career and focus on the doubles circuit. She has
achieved a number of firsts for women's tennis in her native country, including
surpassing $1 million in career earnings (in the end over $6.9 million), winning a
singles WTA title, and winning six major titles (three each in women's doubles and
in mixed doubles), as well as qualifying for (and eventually winning) the WTA
Finals in 2014 alongside Cara Black, defending the title the following year
partnering with Martina Hingis.[7]

In addition, she is the third Indian woman in the Open Era to feature and win a
round at a Grand Slam tournament, and the first to reach the second week. She has
also won a total of 14 medals (including 6 gold) at three major multi-sport events,
namely the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Afro-Asian Games.

Mirza was named one of the "50 Heroes of Asia" by Time in October 2005.[8] In March
2010, The Economic Times named Mirza in the list of the "33 women who made India
proud".[9] She was appointed as the UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia
during the event held to mark the International Day To End Violence Against Women
on 25 November 2013.[10] She was named in Time magazine's 2016 list of the 100 most
influential people in the world.[11]

Contents
1 Early life
2 Tennis career
2.1 2001–2003: Success on the Junior ITF circuit
2.2 2004–2005: Success in WTA Tour and Grand Slam tournaments
2.3 2006–2007: Top 30 breakthrough
2.4 2008–2009: Grand Slam mixed-doubles championship
2.5 2010–2012: Injury, struggles & doubles specialization
2.6 2013–2014: Top 5 doubles breakthrough
2.7 2015–2016: Rise to world No. 1 and women's doubles major titles
2.8 2017–2019: Split with Hingis, maternity leave
2.9 2020–present: Winning return
3 Playing style
4 Awards and recognition
5 Personal life
6 Social contribution
7 Controversies
8 Career statistics
9 Grand Slam finals
9.1 Women's doubles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner–up)
9.2 Mixed doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runner–ups)
9.3 Girls' doubles: 1 (1 title)
10 Autobiography
11 See also
12 References
13 External links
Early life
Sania Mirza was born on 15 November 1986 in Mumbai to Hyderabadi Muslim parents
Imran Mirza, a sports journalist,[12] and his wife Naseema, who worked in a
printing business. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Hyderabad where she
and younger sister Anam were raised in a religious Sunni Muslim family. She is the
distant relative of former cricket captains Ghulam Ahmed of India, and Asif Iqbal
of Pakistan.[13] She took up tennis at the age of six. She has been coached by her
father and also Roger Anderson.
She attended Nasr School in Hyderabad. Sania in a recent interview credited her
school for giving her the freedom to pursue her dream. She called Nasr 'a home she
misses'. A prestigious girls day school, she recalled the faces of joy whenever she
walked into Nasr after a tournament, regardless of its result. This boosted her
morale and determination, she said. She later graduated from St. Mary's College.
Mirza also received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the MGR
Educational and Research Institute University in Chennai on 11 December 2008.[14]
Apart from tennis, Mirza is particularly good at cricket and swimming.

Tennis career
2001–2003: Success on the Junior ITF circuit
Sania Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003.
She was trained by her father. Mirza won 10 singles and 13 doubles titles as a
junior player. She won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles title,
partnering Alisa Kleybanova. She also reached the semifinals of the 2003 US Open
Girls' Doubles, with Sanaa Bhambri, and the quarterfinals of the 2002 US Open
Girls' Doubles. On the senior circuit, Mirza started to show early success as she
made her debut in April 2001 on the ITF Circuit as a 15-year-old. Her highlights of
2001 include a quarterfinals showing in Pune and a semifinal finish in New Delhi.
As the 2002 season began, she turned around a season of early losses to winning
three straight titles; her first in her hometown Hyderabad and the other two in
Manila, Philippines.

In February 2003, Mirza was given a wild card to play in her first ever WTA
tournament, at the AP Tourism Hyderabad Open, in her hometown. She lost the tough
first round encounter to Australia's Evie Dominikovic in three sets. The following
week, at the Qatar Ladies Open, she fell to Czech Olga Blahotová in the first
qualifying round. She had a good result representing India on the Fed Cup, winning
three straight matches. She helped India win a bronze medal in the mixed doubles
event of the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, partnering Leander Paes. In addition, Mirza
picked up four gold medals at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad.

2004–2005: Success in WTA Tour and Grand Slam tournaments

At her hometown event, the 2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open, Mirza was a wildcard
entrant. She put up a good fight against the fourth seed and eventual champion
Nicole Pratt in round one, but lost in three sets. She won her first WTA doubles
title at the same event, partnering Liezel Huber. She then received a wild card to
compete at the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Casablanca, Morocco, but
suffered a first-round defeat to eventual champion Émilie Loit.

On the ITF Circuit, Mirza had a runner-up showing at the Palm Beach Gardens
Challenger, where she fell to Sesil Karatantcheva. Mirza won six ITF singles titles
in 2004. Going into the 2005 Australian Open, Mirza defeated Cindy Watson and Petra
Mandula in the first and second rounds, respectively, to reach the third round
where she was beaten in straight sets by eventual champion Serena Williams. In
February, Mirza became the first-ever Indian woman to win a WTA title, by winning
her hometown event, the AP Tourism Hyderabad Open, defeating ninth-seeded Alona
Bondarenko in the final. At Dubai, she upset in round two 4th seed and reigning US
Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the biggest quarterfinal of her career.
In the second round of the Wimbledon Championships, she lost to Kuznetsova in a
tight three-setter.

In August, she reached the third round at the Acura Classic, falling to Morigami.
Mirza reached her second WTA final at the Forest Hills Tennis Classic, falling to
Lucie Šafářová. Mirza became the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a
Grand Slam tournament at the US Open, defeating Mashona Washington, Maria Elena
Camerin and Marion Bartoli, before losing to top seed Maria Sharapova in the Round
of 16. At the Japan Open, Mirza reached the semifinals with wins over Vilmarie
Castellvi, Aiko Nakamura and Vera Zvonareva, before being overpowered by Tatiana
Golovin. Thanks to a successful 2005 season, Mirza was named the WTA Newcomer of
the Year.