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| Sania Mirza- The Only Woman Champion Tennis Player from India |
Sania Mirza - The Only Woman Champion Tennis Player from India
Sania Mirza (Born 15 November 1986) is the Indian professional tennis player who is currently ranked as #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.In her singles career, Mirza has notable wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva and Marion Bartoli; as well as former world No.1s Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina, and Victoria Azarenka.
She is the highest-ranked female player ever from India, peaking at world No. 27 in singles in mid-2007; however, a major wrist injury forced her to give up her singles career and focus on the doubles circuit, where she is currently ranked No. 1.
"As tennis players,you are never satisfied. We are greedy as players, always want better results."-Sania Mirza
She has achieved a number of firsts for women's tennis in her native country, including surpassing US$1 million in career earnings (now over $6 million), winning a singles Pro-level title, and winning six major titles (three each in women's doubles and in mixed doubles), as well as qualifying for (and eventually winning) the WTA Finals in 2014 alongside Cara Black, defending the title the following year partnering with Martina Hingis.
[caption id="attachment_216" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Mar 21, 2015; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Martina Hingis (SUI) and Sania Mirza (IND) with the championship trophy after winning their doubles final match against Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) and Elena Vesnina (RUS) in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Hingis/Mirza won 6-3, 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports - RTR4UC1F[/caption]
In addition, she is the third Indian woman in the Open Era to feature and win a round at a Grand Slam tournament (going as far as the last 16). She has also won a total of 14 medals (including 6 Gold) at three major multi-sport events, namely the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Afro-Asian Games.
Mirza was named one of the "50 Heroes of Asia" by Time in October 2005.
In March 2010, The Economic Times named Mirza in the list of the "33 women who made India proud".
She was appointed as the UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia during the event held to mark the International Day To End Violence Against Women on 25 November 2013. She was named in Time magazine's 2016 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Early life of Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on 15 November 1986, to Imran Mirza, a builder, and his wife Naseema, who worked in a printing business. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Hyderabad where she and younger sister Anam were raised in a religious Shi'a Muslim family. She is the distant relative of former cricket captains Ghulam Ahmed of India, and Asif Iqbal of Pakistan.[13] She took up tennis at the age of six. She has been coached by her father and also Roger Anderson.
She attended Nasr School in Hyderabad and later graduated from St. Mary's College. Mirza received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the MGR Educational and Research Institute University in Chennai on 11 December 2008. She is also a very good swimmer.
Awards received by Sania Mirza
"One of the thrills of playing at the top venues of the world is to see the Indian flag go up whenever I 'm practicing. That's enough motivation for any Indian to perform there."-Sania Mirza
- Arjuna Award (2004)
- WTA New Comer of the Year (2005)
- Padma Shri (2006)
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2015)
- Padma Bhushan (2016)
In the year 2014, the government of Telangana appointed Sania Mirza as the brand ambassador of the state. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao congratulated Sania Mirza on her being awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. She was named in the Time magazine's 2016 list of 100 most influential people in the world.
Social contribution by Sania Mirza
Currently, Mirza is the brand ambassador for the Indian state of Telangana.
Sania has established a tennis academy in Hyderabad. Former world no. 1s and multilple Grand Slam winners Cara Black and Martina Navratilova have both visited the academy on different occasions.
Sania Mirza was announced as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia.
She is the first South Asian Woman to be appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador in the organization's history.
Ace Against Odds : Autobiography by Sania Mirza
The book is already on the stands. Sania made a sterling comeback between August 2015 and March 2016, after announcing her retirement from the singles circuit. She clocked 41 consecutive wins with her doubles partner, the Swiss tennis star, Martina Hingis, and ascended to the top seed.
Now, the 29-year-old tennis ace has enlisted three of them to launch her upcoming autobiography -'Ace Against Odds'- penned by her and her father, Imran Mirza. The book chronicles the Hyderabad girl's journey to becoming the World No 1 in the women's doubles rankings, along with lesser-known aspects of her sporting career and personal life.
Buy The Book Now: Ace Against Odds - Autobiography by Sania Mirza
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