Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza is an Indian former professional tennis player, widely regarded as one of the most influential and highest-paid athletes in India. She is a former doubles World No. 1 and a six-time major champion, with three titles each in women's doubles and mixed doubles.

From 2003 until her singles retirement in 2013, she was the highest-ranked Indian woman in singles. She is also the first Indian woman to win a WTA Tour title and to earn a major title.

Player Profile and Personal Life

Sania Mirza was born on November 15, 1986, in Mumbai, to Hyderabadi Muslim parents Imran Mirza, a sports journalist, and his wife Naseema, who worked in a printing business. She stands 173 cm tall and she plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand.

Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Hyderabad, where she and her younger sister, Anam, were raised. Anam is married to cricketer Mohammad Asaduddin. Mirza is also a distant relative of former cricket captains Ghulam Ahmed of India and Asif Iqbal of Pakistan.

She took up tennis at the age of six, and her coaches included her father and Roger Anderson. Mirza attended Nasr School and later graduated from St. Mary's College in Hyderabad. In December 2008, she received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute in Chennai.

In 2013, Mirza was appointed as the UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia.

She was named one of the "50 Heroes of Asia" by Time in October 2005 and was included in The Economic Times' list of "33 women who made India proud" in March 2010. Time magazine also named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016.

In 2014, Mirza was named the brand ambassador for the Indian state of Telangana to promote its interests. She also established a tennis academy in Hyderabad, which has been visited by former World No. 1 players, like Cara Black and Martina Navratilova.

Professional Career

Sania Mirza turned professional in February 2003. She quickly established herself as the top female player in India, a position she held until her retirement from singles in 2013. She became the highest-ranked Indian female player ever, reaching a career-high of World No. 27 in singles in 2007.

Mirza achieved several firsts for Indian women's tennis, including becoming the only Indian woman to be ranked within the top 100 in singles and the first to win a WTA Tour singles title. She also won a total of 14 medals, including six golds, at major multi-sport events like the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the Afro-Asian Games.

A major wrist injury caused her to shift her focus from singles to doubles, where she achieved her greatest success.

Mirza became the World No. 1 in doubles, a position she held for 91 weeks. She won three women's doubles major titles and three mixed doubles major titles. In women's doubles, she won the Wimbledon Championships in 2015 and the US Open in 2015, both with Martina Hingis, as well as the Australian Open in 2016. In mixed doubles, her major titles came at the Australian Open in 2009, the French Open in 2012, and the US Open in 2014.

In addition to her Grand Slam victories, Mirza won 43 doubles titles in total and earned the WTA Finals in doubles in 2014 with Black and defended the title in 2015 with Hingis.

In 2005, she was crowned the WTA's Newcomer of the Year. In 2015, she and Hingis were named the WTA's Doubles Team of the Year and went on an impressive 44-match winning streak, one of the longest in tennis history.

Sania Mirza officially retired from professional tennis in February 2023.

Career Record

Singles

• Career record: 271–161
• Career titles: 1
• Highest ranking: No. 27 (August 27, 2007)

Best Grand Slam Singles Performances

• Australian Open – 3R (2005, 2008)
• French Open – 2R (2007, 2011)
• Wimbledon – 2R (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009)
• US Open – 4R (2005)

Other tournaments (Singles)

• Olympic Games – 1R (2008)

Doubles

• Career record: 536–248
• Career titles: 43
• Highest ranking: No. 1 (April 13, 2015)

Best Grand Slam Doubles Performances

• Australian Open – W (2016)
• French Open – F (2011)
• Wimbledon – W (2015)
• US Open – W (2015)

Other tournaments (Doubles)

• WTA Finals – W (2014, 2015)
• Olympic Games – 2R (2008)

Mixed Doubles

• Career titles: 3

Best Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Performances

• Australian Open – W (2009)
• French Open – W (2012)
• Wimbledon – SF (2022)
• US Open – W (2014)

Other mixed doubles tournaments

• Olympic Games – SF (2016)