Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirzais an Indian professional tennis player who is currently ranked No. 1 in the women's doubles rankings. From 2003 until her retirement from singles in 2013, she was ranked by the Women's Tennis Association as India's No. 1 player, both in singles and doubles. Throughout her career, Mirza has established herself as the most successful female Indian tennis player ever and one of the highest-paid and high-profile athletes in the country...
NationalityIndian
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth15 November 1986
CityMumbai, India
CountryIndia
Martina is one player I admired and was really disappointed that she wasn't around when I started playing the tour. I am just excited to play with her and I think I played a great match and made her work hard for her points.
I have a passion for playing tennis and enjoy the workload and struggles of performing in this amazing global sport.
One of the thrills of playing at the top tennis centres of the world is to see the Indian flag go up whenever I'm participating in these events. That's enough motivation for any Indian who has the opportunity to perform at these tournaments.
I guess I'm playing the best tennis I've ever played (but) it's always one match at a time. You can't just jump ahead.
Seeding doesn't count for much once you are out there on court ... Playing a qualifier in the first round is never easy as she has the confidence of already having won three matches in the qualifying draw and is well acquainted with the playing conditions.
Not many people know, but my joints are extremely hypermobile, and that's why I'm more prone to injuries. That's why most of my major injuries were with the joints. I had a career-threatening wrist injury where picking up a fork to feed myself was a problem, and the thought of playing tennis again was so far from my mind.
I will play with anyone for my country. I may have my personal preferences, but such preferences have never come in the way of playing for India.
It was a very strange match, very up and down, ... The first round is always the toughest, you have to adjust to playing with new balls, on a new court and in a new stadium, but once you get past that first match it's a little easier because you have more confidence.
Everyone dreams of playing Wimbledon and winning it. I am glad this dream came true for me so fast in my career. It feels great after so many years of struggle.
I think people tend to forget that as celebrities we are still human. We have the same emotions - we cry, we have fun, we laugh, we get sad, and we get hurt. When something is written about you, which millions of people are reading, and it is not true, imagine how hurtful it can be.
When I go out on court, I don't care what I look like. I don't care if I'm out of my bed as long as I win the match, and that's what I'm there for. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing, it doesn't matter what I look, it doesn't matter what my hair feels like. All I feel is the moment I have to play well, give my 100% and win the match.
When I used to say I wanted to play at Wimbledon, they used to laugh in my face and say, 'What are you talking about, you're from Hyderabad, and you're supposed to... cook.' That's one of the notions that people have in this side of the world - it is our 'culture', within quotes, you know, to say what a woman can or cannot do.
No tennis player is perfect. Even if you're world #1, I don't think, you still have things to improve on, and I'm not even close to that. So I am going to have weaknesses in my game; I am going to have strengths in my game, but I still have time to develop a lot of things, hopefully, and we'll see how it goes.
Fitness is defined differently by everyone, but for me, the most important thing is being healthy. As tennis players, what we do is not the healthiest thing. We almost abuse our bodies.