Sania Mirza (Urdu: سانیا مِرزا; born 15 November 1986), is an Indian tennis player. She started her tennis career in 2003, and is currently one of the high ranked players in India. In 2004 she was awarded the prestigious Arjuna award by the Indian government.
Mirza was born to a sports journalist, Imran Mirza and her mother Nasima in Mumbai. She was brought up in Hyderabad in a devout Muslim family. Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She was trained by her father, as well as her other family members. She went to Nasr school in Hyderabad and later graduated from St. Mary's College.
In April 2003, Mirza made her debut in the India Fed Cup team, winning all three singles matches. Mirza won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles title, teaming up with Alisa Kleybanova of Russia.
Mirza is the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with a career high ranking of 27 in singles and 18 in doubles. She holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to be seeded in a Grand Slam tennis tournament. Earlier in 2005, she had become the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament at the 2005 U.S. Open, defeating Mashona Washington, Maria Elena Camerin and Marion Bartoli. In 2004, she finished runner-up at the Asian Tennis Championship. In winning, with Mahesh Bhupathi, the Mixed Doubles event at the 2009 Australian Open, she became the first Indian woman to win any grand slam event.
In 2005, Mirza reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. On February 12, 2005, she became the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title, defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the Hyderabad Open Finals. As of September 2006, Mirza has notched up three top 10 wins; against Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Martina Hingis. At the 2006 Doha Asian Games, Mirza won the silver in the women's singles category and the gold in the mixed doubles partnering Leander Paes. She was also part of the Indian women's team that won the silver in the team event.
In 2006, Mirza was awarded a Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour for her contribution to Tennis.
Mirza had the best results of her career during the 2007 summer hardcourt season, finishing eighth in the 2007 U.S. Open Series standings. She reached the final of the Bank of the West Classic and won the doubles event with Shahar Pe'er, and reached the quarterfinals of the Tier 1 Acura Classic.
At the 2007 U.S. Open, she reached the third round before losing to Anna Chakvetadze for the third time in recent weeks. She fared much better in the doubles, reaching the quarterfinals in mixed with her partner Mahesh Bhupathi and the quarterfinals in the women's doubles with Bethanie Mattek, including a win over number two seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.
She represented India at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, in the women's singles and doubles events. In singles, she retired in the round of 64, while she was trailing 1-6, 1-2 against Iveta Benešová of Czech Republic. She teamed up with Sunitha Rao for the doubles event. They got a walk-over in the round of 32, but lost to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina by 4-6, 4-6, in the round of 16.
Mirza received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from MGR Educational and Research Institute University in Chennai on 2008-12-11.[6]Her niece, Sonia Baig Mirza, studies there.
2008
Mirza reached the quarter-finals at Hobart as No.6 seed, where she lost to Flavia Pennetta in three sets. She reached the third round at the Australian Open as No.31 seed, where she lost to No.8 seed Venus Williams 7-6(0) 6-4, having led 5-3 in the first set. She was runner-up in the Australian Open mixed doubles partnering Mahesh Bhupathi. Sun Tiantian and Nenad Zimonjić) won the final 7–6(4), 6–4.
She withdrew from Pattaya City because of a left adductor strain.
Mirza reached the 4r at Indian Wells as No.21 seed, defeating No.9 seed Shahar Pe'er en route, but lost to No.5 seed Daniela Hantuchová.
At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, as No.32 seed, Mirza was defeated by qualifier Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 6-0, 4-6, 9-7, having had several match points.
Mirza was eliminated in the first round of the 2008 Beijing Olympics when she retired in her match against Iveta Benešová because of a right wrist injury. Throughout 2008, Mirza was plagued by a slew of wrist injuries, requiring her to withdraw from several matches and the Roland Garros and US Open Grand Slams.
2009
Sania picked up her maiden Grand Slam title in the 2009 Australian Open. Partnered with Mahesh Bhupathi, she won the mixed doubles title beating Nathalie Dechy (France) and Andy Ram (Israel) 6-3, 6-1 in the final in Melbourne. She then entered the Pattaya Women's Open Tournament in Bangkok where she reached the finals after a string of good performances. She lost the finals to Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-1. She made the semis in doubles in the same tournament.
Sania then competed in the BNP Paribas Open where she lost in the second round to Flavia Pennetta. She then participated in the Miami Masters and lost to Mathilde Johansson of France in the first round. Mirza and her doubles partner Chia-jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei made the semifinals of the doubles event. Sania also crashed out in the first round of the MPS Group Championships but won the doubles title with Chuang.
As a Muslim, she has garnered criticism from some Orthodox Islamic groups, as her attire allegedly did not conform to Islamic dress codes. According to one report published September 8, 2005, an unnamed Islamic scholar had issued a fatwa, saying that her attire is contrary to what is permitted by Islam. A further report published the next day on this fatwa elaborated that Mirza was unfazed by the comments. Large numbers of Muslim clerics protested her attire, accusing her of being a "corrupting influence on the youth." She has been widely attacked and vilified in Islamist circles, including a cleric named Haseeb-ul-hasan Siddiqui who said "The dress she wears on the tennis courts…leaves nothing to the imagination, She will undoubtedly be a corrupting influence." Islamist groups such as Jamiat-ulema-e-Hind allegedly threatened to disrupt her tennis matches, following which the Calcutta police had to tighten security measures to protect her. Mirza's doctor received threatening letters demanding that he cease to treat her since she was allegedly dishonoring Islam. Sania Mirza herself a Shia Muslim from Vijaynagar, also attracted a response from the Major Shia Organization in India, The All-India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board. The Board disapproved the edict issued by some Muslim clerics on dresses worn by Indian teenage tennis sensation Sania Mirza while playing and asked them not to meddle in [the] sports arena.[citation needed] However Mirza is a practicing Muslim who prays fives times a day, and tries to fast during Ramadan.
In 2006, some newspapers reported that Mirza declined from playing with an Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er for fear of violent protests from India's Muslim clerics and their opposition to the existence of Israel. However a year later (i.e. in 2007), she teamed up with Pe'er for the 2007 WTA Tour of Stanford, California. Mirza said in January 2008 that she considered quitting the sport because of undue controversy surrounding her actions. Mirza was pictured resting her feet during a press conference at the 2008 Hopman Cup, with an Indian flag in close proximity. She faced possible prosecution under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act after a private citizen complained. Mirza protested that, "I love my country, I wouldn't be playing Hopman Cup otherwise", and said that she meant no disrespect. On February 4, 2008, Mirza said that she would stop appearing in tennis tournaments held in India, starting with the 2008 Bangalore Open the following month, citing the series of controversies and upon advice by her manager.
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