Prarthana Thombare: 5 things to know about the youngest member of India's Rio tennis contingent

Thombare and her idol and partner, Sania Mirza

3. She enrolled herself in the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy, Hyderabad last year, and has seen a meteoric rise in her career ever since.

She is being coached by Sania Mirza’s father Imran Mirza, who has helped her improve her skills nuances of the game, and broaden her arsenal of service weapons. This has helped her win 11 titles in 2015 alone. She has won 17 doubles’ titles and 3 singles titles in her ITF career.

“After national success, we decided to move to the next level. That’s when I started training at the Sania Mirza Training Academy (SMTA).”