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Sania
Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six, turned pro
at age 17 and now has quickly grown into a youth icon of
India. At this young age she has achieved what no other
in India tennis player has ever achieved. She is a rage
among the Indian youth and is the most sought after
celebrity in the country. Her popularity is unbelievable
and the media coined in the word Sania Mania for the
mass hysteria that she is causing. With men, her beauty
and body is as much talked about as her tennis and young
girls see her as someone they can aspire to be like.
Initially, her father coached her before she took tennis
seriously. Her father Imran Mirza, started as a sports
journalist and then went into printing business before
becoming a builder. Sania’s mother, Naseema, runs the
printing business now. Sania also has a little sister
Anam. During the initial stage of her career, Imran, who
was not overtly wealthy, found it hard to pay for Sania’s expensive training and gear. Luckily they found
a sponsor in G V K Reddy, chairman of G V K Group, when
Sania was 13. That was crucial turning point in her
career.
Sania won the Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles
title in 2003 (partnering with Alisa Kleybanova ). She
got a wild card entry to the 2005 Australian Open and
created history by becoming the first Indian woman to
enter the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. She
lost in the 3rd round to eventual champion Serena
Williams. In the same year she became the first Indian
woman to win a WTA singles title defeating Alyona
Bondarenko of Ukraine in the Hyderabad Open Finals.
She then went on to win the WTA ‘Newcomer of the Year’
Award for the year 2005. She won the award over her
performance during the year when she rose to a career
best ranking of 31 after being ranked 163 at the start
of the year. She is ranked 37th in the latest WTA
rankings. Sania has 516.75 singles ranking points.
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Mirza Beats Rain; Sharapova in Action Today at WTA Birmingham