Sania Mirza - A true warrior

Sania Mirza and Cara Black with the WTA Tour Finals spoils

Incredible fighting spirit from Sania

Sania Mirza, at the age of 20, was ranked as high as 27 in the world on the singles circuit. It looked like she would go on to make India proud and become one of the world’s best. Injuries got the better of her which caused her ranking to slip and eventually made her quit singles and move on to doubles. It was at this time that everyone started writing her off and passing comments on her failures.

No one would have predicted that 8 years later – on 26 October 2014, she would create history by becoming the first ever Indian to win the WTA Tour Finals in doubles with her partner Cara Black and finish the year with a world ranking of 6 in doubles. She has conquered a lot in 2014 and it has been a phenomenal year for Mirza.

She broke into the top 5 in doubles on 7 July for the first time, won the US Open mixed doubles with Brazil’s Bruno Soares in September, and followed it up with a gold in mixed doubles with Saketh Myneni and a bronze in women’s doubles with Prarthana Thombare at the Incheon Asian Games later that month.

“At the Asian Games, I was playing with inexperienced partners, and it was a thrill to combine with them as a senior partner and win medals for the country,” said Mirza after her Asian Games victory.

Controversies did not affect her

For someone who has been in as many controversies as she has, one cannot help but salute her fighting spirit and her immense perseverance. Controversies began as early as 2005 with the Muslim cleric issuing a fatwa against Mirza in 2005, saying her tennis attire was “un-Islamic” and “corrupting”.She was again at the centre of discussion when she got married to Shoaib Malik, the Pakistani cricketer due to which she has constantly had to assert her “indianness" to the media.

She has defied all odds and criticism and is now looking to reach the no. 1 in the world in doubles in 2015. Winning the tour finals last month was probably her proudest moment on court. “It was a tremendous honour to have been presented the trophy by Martina Navratilova while being watched by the other all-time greats, like Billie Jean King and Chris Evert, and it is something that I can never forget,” said Mirza.

She did something which other established Indian players like Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes could not do by winning the tour finals. Her U.S Open success with Soares was her 3rd Grand Slam Mixed doubles title in her career. She won her first 2 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles with Mahesh Bhupathi in the form of the Australian Open in 2009 and French Open in 2012. “ The Grand Slam always includes the best players in the world and it’s what the professionals play for. So it’s always a dream come true when one wins at any of the Slams,” said Mirza after her 3rd title.

Looking forward to 2015

In 2015, Sania will be looking to achieve mainly 3 things –

One – complete a career slam in mixed doubles by looking to win the Wimbledon Championships. She has not been able to pass the quarter-final stage at SW19, reaching that stage in 2011 and 2013.

Second- to reach the No. 1 spot in doubles. She has had an extremely successful season in 2014 and will be looking to carry her brilliant form into 2015.

Third – to win a women’s doubles Grand Slam title. She has never won a major in women’s doubles. She came painfully close when she reached the French Open finals this year. After Paes, Bhupathi and Bopanna having a disappointing season, Sania has definitely been India’s best player this season. Let's hope she continues to make us proud in the future.