Sania Mirza featured in BBC 100 Inspirational Women list
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza made it to the BBC 100 Inspirational Women list for 2015 announced on Wednesday. The list features seven Indians including Sania Mirza.
Sania Mirza first rose to prominence back in 2003, when as a sixteen-year-old she won the Wimbledon girl's doubles title, becoming the first Indian girl to win a Grand Slam. It was apparent from a young age that the Mumbai born tennis ace would go on to become India's most successful and celebrated woman in the sport.
Singles career
Her senior career started brightly as she reached the third round of the 2005 Australian Open, where she lost to eventual winner Serena Williams. Despite that straight-set defeat, Sania grabbed a lot of attention during that match, and with it promised a bright future. She also became became the first Indian to win a WTA title in 2005, by lifting the Hyderabad Open in her home town.
Mirza grabbed her upset when she defeated reigning US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets in the second round of the Dubai Open. She continued her rise by becoming the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam at the US Open 2005. The cherry on the top of a wonderful year was provided by the 'WTA Newcomer of the Year' award.
Sania also became first Indian woman to reach the Top 50 and the first to surpass $1 million in career earnings.
Her meteoric rise continued in 2006 when she became the first Indian women to be seeded in a Grand Slam and grabbed a famous win over Martina Hingis.
Doubles career
From 2008, her focus shifted from the singles circuit to the doubles and mixed doubles.
After struggling with injuries in 2010, she completely shifted her focus to doubles and eventually retired from singles competition in 2013. That marked the beginning of another phase of her career, one where more titles and accolades awaited her.
She became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title with mixed doubles crowns in 2009, 2012 and 2014. Sania’s first two mixed doubles title arrived in 2009 (Australian Open) and 2012 (French Open)- both while partnering Mahesh Bhupathi. Her third mixed doubles title came in 2014 US Open partnering up with Bruno Soares. She also won Asian Games Gold in 2006 and 2014 in the mixed doubles section partnering up with Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni respectively.
The best phase of her career began when she started partnering Martina Hingis in March 2015. The duo has been dominating the Womens’ doubles tennis circuit lifting nine titles this year with 55 wins, which includes an unbeaten run of 22 matches- concluding with their Championsip win at the season-ending WTA finals this month.The duo also won titles in Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, US Open (New York), Wimbledon (London), Charleston, Miami and Indian Wells. Sania and Hingis were also praised by Martina Navratilova after the performance at the WTA finals.
@WTA @mhingis @MirzaSania what a dominating performance from the world #1 team but particularly Sania- just awesome!
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) November 1, 2015Other Indians in the list include Asha Bhosle (singer), Kamini Kaushal (actress), Rimppi Kumari (farmer), Smriti Nagpal (entrepreneur), Mumtaz Shaikh (campaigner) and Kanika Tekriwal (entrepreneur).