Before she started fighting on the court, she had to deal with her own parents, and then – with religious fundamentalists. Sania Mirza, the best tennis player in Indian history, ends her career as the one who shone on the world’s courts, but at the same time was a symbol of the fight for women’s rights for millions of Indian women.
Last week, during the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, Sania Mirza ended her career. The 36-year-old tennis player from India has won Grand Slam titles, leads the WTA ranking, and is followed by 11 million people on Instagram – the same number as Roger Federer, and over 10 times more than Iga Świątek, three times more than Maria Sharapova, almost five times more than Naomi Osaka.
Mirza’s career was full of success not only on the court. On her way to the world’s top, the competitor broke many glass ceilings. She is the best tennis player in India’s history, but her path was not a bed of roses.
Parents were afraid that she would not find a husband
When she told her parents at the age of six that she wanted to play tennis, she was told that her skin would darken from being in the sun. – You will never find a husband – the parents of the future champion were afraid. Mirza grew up in a conservative society where girls are rarely expected to have a sporting future – especially on the tennis court.
In India, fans are excited about cricket, field hockey, badminton, but not tennis. At least that was the case at the beginning of the 21st century, when Mirza started her adult career. She told everyone she wanted to be “the new Martina Hingis”.
The Swiss was a role model for her. As a child, Mirza brought a Hingis poster from a trip to the USA, which she hung in her room in her hometown of Hyderabad. At that time, she did not expect that in a dozen or so years, together with Martina, she would win the Grand Slam title at the famous Wimbledon. And that’s what happened in 2015.
A dynamically developing career
Previously, as a 17-year-old, Mirza won the junior Wimbledon 2003 in a pair with Russian Alisa Kleybanova. Her father, however, kept saying that her daughter did not have an athlete’s body. As a junior, the Indian had a lot of minor injuries, but nevertheless made her Grand Slam debut as a senior two years later. She reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to Serena Williams. A moment later, as the first tennis player from India, she won a WTA singles tournament in her hometown of Hyderabad.
The rookie season of 2005 was excellent for Mirza. In New York, she reached the 1/8 finals of the US Open, in the ranking she advanced to 27th place – the highest in her career, which she equaled two years later. However, her singles career did not last long – in mid-2012, due to health problems, Mirza switched to doubles and mixed doubles. Competing in these competitions, she achieved the greatest successes.
Indian women icon
She also quickly became the face of social change and was a symbol of the growing position of women in India. On court she was very confident, off court she adopted a style that was at odds with Muslim tradition: she wore a nose ring, T-shirts with provocative slogans (“Stay out of my way”, “Obedient women rarely make history”), heavy makeup. She appeared in many commercials in India, the car brands she promoted broke sales records in the country. The Asian edition of Time magazine named her in 2005 as one of the “Heroes of Asia”. “She found herself between Bollywood stars and the national cricket team,” Time editors praised her.
Mirza called for the emancipation of women, but not everyone liked it. In 2005, an ultra-conservative Muslim association condemned her for the “anti-Islamic” attire she wore at the US Open. – Not only does the outfit not cover most of the body, but it leaves no room for imagination at all. This will have a corrupting effect on young women, the Muslims warned.
Mirza tried not to worry about it. Just like political emotions in her homeland, when in 2010 she married Pakistani cricketer Shuaib Malik. India and Pakistan have been in hostile relations since 1947, when British India was divided.
The brawl before the Olympics
The tennis player at press conferences was annoyed by questions about India. – Whatever I say, whatever I assume, everything will be analyzed and manipulated – she said after one of the meetings at Wimbledon. She didn’t last after Roland Garros 2012.
In Paris, Mirza won the mixed doubles competition with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi. Two months later, they were to play together at the London Olympics. They would have been medal contenders, but Bhupathi ultimately opted to play doubles with Rohan Bopanna. This meant that Leander Paes – the biggest star of Indian tennis – was left without a pair.
The federation offered Paes a joint performance with Vishnu Vardhan (ATP 240), which the star did not want to accept. To ease the conflict, the activists pitched the idea of an Olympic mixed doubles with Mirza, but did not ask her opinion. The tennis player was furious, and the Indians did not win a single tennis medal in London.
Mother, ambassador, great player
A year later, Mirza became the first South Asian UN women’s ambassador, joining actresses Nicole Kidman and Emma Watson. Receiving the nomination, she complained about the lack of respect for women in India, which caused another stir.
Mirza’s influence on women in India is perhaps the greatest part of her legacy. – No other Indian tennis player was her equal, which made her seem both a lonely figure and an anomaly. But by showing Indian women that success and independence at the highest level are possible, she has paved a path that is likely to remain well remembered for decades to come.
He adds: “Many young girls will take up tennis or any other sport because of Mirza’s achievements, and many will be free to speak their minds thanks to the unapologetic comments she has made throughout her career.” Mirza taught Indians that nothing would stop women if they stopped caring what others thought and just went about their business. And there can be no greater lesson than this.
In 2018, Mirza became a mother, and after a few months she began preparing to return to the court. She wanted to show that motherhood does not mean the end of dreams in the profession. She recorded materials of how she trains to lose weight after pregnancy. She inspired women in India again.
“Even those who didn’t understand tennis talked about her”
– Like most tennis fans around the world, I will always remember Sana for her fearless attitude and bold statements. Tennis-wise, I’ll remember her forehand. When Mirza was at her best, her forehand was one of the best in the world, even in singles. She later enhanced other elements of her game by going into doubles, especially volleying, but her forehand was almost always the best shot on the court.
Mirza is one of the greatest female athletes in the history of Indian sports. She won three Grand Slam tournaments in doubles and three in mixed doubles. She achieved her first big success at the Australian Open in 2008, when she reached the mixed doubles final. In this year’s final in Melbourne, she was again in the final. For almost 20 years she belonged to the tennis leaders, and for 91 weeks she was the first racket in the WTA doubles ranking.
“It goes without saying that Mirza has greatly helped Indian tennis not only with her game and results, but also with her personality and attitude on and off the court. She won a lot, but she also had an impact through what she said and did. She has helped greatly raise the profile of tennis in India. People were talking about her and tennis, even if they didn’t understand the sport, concludes Abid.
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