India's tennis star Sania Mirza retained her numero uno status in women's doubles for the second consecutive year, despite failing to defend the WTA Finals Singapore title with partner Martina Hingis. Defending champions Sania and Hingis had lost to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals Singapore on Saturday.
Sania also received warm birthday greetings from other cricketers and Bollywood celebrities.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the stars that lit up the night at the awards ceremony...
The top seeded pair of Sania Mizra and Yaroslava Shvedova crashed out of the Nurnberg WTA event following a shock first round defeat against Chia-Jung Chuang and Misaki Doi, in Nurnberg, on Tuesday.
The tennis ace wishes to spend her 19th birthday in a quiet and calm fashion "with family and friends".
The Indian ace will battle against the top players with a cut-off ranking of 36 at the Dubai Open starting on February 28.
Ankita Bhambri and Rushmi Chakravarthy are the other two members of the team that will be coached by Enrico Piperno.
Skipper Virat Kohli was among the first ones to wish Hardik and Natasa. "Congratulations to you both," Kohli wrote responding to the photo of Hardik's baby boy.
Sania Mirza beat Italy's Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-2 in the 1.3-million-dollar Acura Classic in San Diego, USA.
The Delhi Police on Friday registered two FIRs in connection with sexual harassment allegations levelled by women wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
There has been many cherished moments in her eventful tennis journey during the last decade but the enormity of becoming World No 1 is such that Sania Mirza has been left with a "surreal feeling" even though she had always dreamt of achieving this feat.
'Let's be the strength of our nation and help it reach greater heights.'
Sharan and Sitak got the better of the Portuguese-Spanish duo 6-4, 7-5 in a thrilling one hour 28 minute encounter.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna sqaundered a set advantage to lose to USA's Venus Williams and Rajiv Ram 6-2, 2-6, 3-10 in the Rio Olympics semi-finals on Saturday.
She has always found her stupendous success on court go hand-in-hand with controversies off it and that is precisely the reason why Sania Mirza is hardly bothered about what a few people have to say about her.
'She never gave up on tennis despite her injury and that connects me to a great sportsperson like Sania'
Fifth seeds Sania Mirza and Cara Black cantered into the second round, even as the duo of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi were shown the door in the men's doubles, at the French Open, in Paris, on Thursday.
The 34-year-old said she didn't experience any severe symptoms of the dreaded virus but it was difficult staying away from her son.
Sania Mirza and her doubles partner Martina Hingis were ousted from the Rogers Cup after the top seeds suffered a straight sets loss to Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik in Toronto on Saturday.
On a largely disappointing day for Indian tennis players, Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza lost their respective doubles matches in the second round of the Australian Open, leaving the country's challenge restricted to the mixed doubles competition.
Defending champions Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis brushed aside Christina Mchale and Jelena Ostapenko to move into the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships on Monday.
Novak Djokovic beat Gael Monfils as inaugural champions Micromax Indian Aces signed off their IPTL campaign with a 15-29 defeat against Musafir.com UAE Royals in Dubai on Saturday.
This is not the first time Sania has been dragged into a controversy related to the Pakistan team.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis equalled the record for the longest women's doubles winning streak on Wednesday by advancing to the WTA Sydney International semi-finals with a straight set triumph.
India's Sania Mirza and her partner Martina Hingis staged a superb comeback to clinch the women's doubles title after a thrilling victory against Russian duo of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova in the final, on Saturday.
As tennis raise hopes of an Indian medal at the Rip Olympics, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com put things in perspective.
Capping off a great day for India, Sania Mirza advanced to the third round of both the women's and mixed doubles events, while Rohan Bopanna and Purav Raja also won their respective mixed doubles matches at the Wimbledon in London.
The Indian pair of Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare settled for a bronze after losing their women's doubles semi-final to Chinese Taipei's Chin Wei Chan and Su Wei Hsiehin in the Asian Games, in Incheon on Sunday.
Maintaining her rich vein of form in the current season, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black bagged the women's doubles title at the WTA Toray Pacific Open with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Spain's Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro.
Sania Mirza has said it is too early to take a call on who she would partner in mixed doubles at the Rio Olympic Games.
The Board, however, did not clarify the reason behind granting leave to the veteran cricketer.
Saina Mirza and Saketh Myneni proved too strong for the Chinese Taipei combination of Hsien Yin Peng and Hao Ching Chan to win the gold in the mixed doubles final at the Asian Games.
India and Bangladesh will be playing their first ever pink ball Test at the Eden and Hasina will be among a starry gathering which will also include West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankar.
The shuttlers led by Saina Nehwal will make their first appearance in the Olympic Games on Thursday along with men golfers as India still waits for its first medal after five days of fruitless labour in this Brazilian city.
Sania Mirza kept the Indian hopes alive by progressing to the women's doubles quarter-finals of ATP-WTA Sony Open in Miami.
