Sania Mirza | Birthed in India, adopted by the world

Her journey is not only a personal achievement but also a treasured success story for all Indians. Time and time again, Sania has reached where no India-born female tennis player has ever reached. Time and time again, Sania has made India proud.

“I used to go swimming and passed the tennis courts every day, and that's how it started. My mum said, 'Why don't you play tennis in your summer holidays because you have nothing to do except swim for an hour or whatever?' and that's how I started playing.”

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Since then Sania has never looked back. With every victory, with every match, Sania is making and breaking records.

The future looked promising for the young talent. Sania bagged 10 singles titles and 13 doubles titles as a junior player. The collection includes the illustrious Wimbledon Girls’ Doubles title of 2003. As Sania entered the WTA circuit, she became the pride of India.

Representing India in the Fed cup, she won three consecutive matches. Sania also brought home a bronze medal in the Asian games of 2002, bagging it in the mixed doubles category. Sania was on the right track and the future was bright. Sania would go on to win 271 singles matches and reach a career high ranking of 27 before injuries plagued her. Many critics felt Sania’s tale had reached its end. But Sania had other plans in mind.

Santina vs Everyone

When Sania teamed up with Martina Hingis, most critics predicted that one and one will combine to form zilch. The reason behind such prediction was that Sania’s game was built on her ferocious ground strokes, especially from the forehand wing while Martina was known for her delicate touches. These two combined to prove the critics wrong as they complimented each other’s games perfectly.

“Sania has a merciless forehand and her well-placed serve starts us perfectly in each point.Where other people would break their bones, she calmly produces winners with an incredible flick of the wrist.”

Martina had the following to say about her fellow partner and friend:

The partnership found instant success as they won all of their first three tournaments-Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open and Family Circles Cup- together. With wins coming in one after the other the confidence was sky-high. Santina was the team to beat. It was Santina vs the rest of the world.

Their popularity amongst tennis fans and their fear amongst rivals grew with time. Their success story continued even at the highest echelons of tennis, the Grand Slams. Santina won the 2015 Wimbledon and U.S. Open. They followed it up by winning the 2016 Australian Open to hold three of the four slams at one time.

it's sushi time with @MirzaSania pic.twitter.com/dUw4NEH6Cl

— Martina Hingis (@mhingis) April 28, 2016

Sania has paired with a number of partners throughout her career but it is safe to say that partner number 70, Martina, brought the best out of her.

Since Sania turned pro in 2003 she has continually risen to fame. In 2004, Sania was awarded with the Arjuna award for her outstanding achievements at the national level. The award won her praise from biggest of names in the country. In 2005 she started gaining recognition worldwide, as she bagged the WTA Newcomer of the year award.With impressive performances, her rankings improved. From an year-end ranking of 206 and 178 in singles and doubles respectively in 2004, Sania ended 2007 ranked 32 and 18. She was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2006.

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The following year, she was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Civilian award in India. As the proud girl, dressed in white, made her way to the stage, the audience were applauding achievements that most tennis players had only dreamt of. 2015-16 saw Mirza’s popularity grow many-folds worldwide. Time magazine featured Sania Mirza in their 100 most influential people in world list of 2016. Who would have thought that a “small” girl will one day stand alongside the greatest of names.

As Sania continues to shine and bring laurels to India, support continues to pour in for her and encourage her to reach greater heights. With Wimbledon and Rio Olympics round the corner, world joins India to cheer for Sania Mirza.