Advertisement

Help
You are here: Rediff Home » India » Sports
Search:  Rediff.com The Web
  Email this Page




More news >>

Birthdate: November 15, 1986
Age:
Height: 1.71m (5' 7 1/2")
Birthplace: Mumbai

Highest Singles ranking: No. 27
Highest Doubles ranking: No. 20
Status: Pro (2003)
Current coach: S Narendranath
Former coaches: Vasudeva Reddy and C G K Bhupathi

Personal:
Sania was born in Mumbai but now resides in Hyderabad. She began playing tennis at age 6 and was coached by her father, Imran Mirza. She has one sister, Anam. She is the first Indian to break into the top 50 WTA rankings. Tennis legend Steffi Graf is her idol. Ocean's 11 is one of her favourite movies, as are actors Brad Pitt and Hugh Grant.

She loves listening to hip-hop, rap and Hindi remixes and likes playing cricket and swimming. Her favourite colors are red and black.



Singles performance:

 200720062005
Australian Open2nd round2nd round3rd round
Roland Garros2nd round1st round1st round
Wimbledon2nd round1st round2nd round
US Open3rd round2nd round4th round


Career highlights:

  • 2006 - Second straight Top 100 finish in season highlighted by one SF run, at Tier III Kolkata (as No.5 seed, d. No.4 seed Rezai 64 75 in QF, having trailed 4-1 second set; l. to top seed and eventual champion Hingis) and four QF, incl. Cincinnati (l. to Schnyder 76(7) 75, after holding set point during first set tie-break) and Seoul (d. No.8 Hingis 46 60 64 in 2r for first Top 10 victory of year, third of career; l. to Ruano Pascual 76 third set);

  • Roland Garros and Wimbledon; impressive doubles results, claiming second and third career Tour doubles titles at Bangalore and Kolkata (both w/Huber; pairing is now 12-0 when playing in India, having also won 2004 Hyderabad together); three-time doubles runner-up as well, with different partners; withdrew from Rome w/low back and wrist injury.

  • 2005 Japan Open: Reached the semi-finals of women's singles and doubles. Shahar Peer of Israel was her partner in doubles. Also reached her highest doubles ranking -- 114.

  • 2005 US Open: Lost in 4th round to top seed Maria Sharapova. Voted 'Best Player of the day' on the 3rd day for winning her 2nd round match despite bleeding toes.

  • 2005 Forest Hills Women's Tennis Classic, New York: Reached second WTA final but lost.

  • 2005 Acura Classic: Lost in the third round to Akiko Morigami of Japan. By beating 8th-ranked Petrova, she broke into the WTA top 50 for the first time.

  • 2005 Dubai Tennis Championships: Upset reigning US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2nd round to reach the quarter-finals.

  • 2005 Hyderabad Open singles: Won the tournament defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the final and became the first Indian woman to capture a WTA singles title.

  • 2005 Australian Open singles: Became first Indian woman to reach the 3rd round of a Grand Slam tournament.

  • 2004 Hyderabad Open doubles: Won the tournament partnering with Liezel Huber to become the youngest Indian to win a WTA or ATP tour title and the first Indian woman to capture a WTA tour title. Entered the singles as wild card but lost in the first round to the eventual winner, Nicole Pratt.

  • 2003 Wimbledon Championships Juniors doubles: Won the tournament partnering with Alisa Kleybanova to become the youngest Indian and the first Indian woman to win a junior Grand Slam title.

  • 2003 Afro-Asian Games: won four gold medals - Women's singles, Mixed doubles (with Mahesh Bhupathi), Women's doubles and Women's team events (the last two golds in partnership with Rushmi Chakravarthy) [5]

    Design: Imran Shaikh

      Email this Page

  • Get news updates: What's this?
    Advertisement
    © 2006 Rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Feedback