Jump to content

Sania Mirza

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by LeaveSleaves (talk | contribs) at 19:15, 5 July 2009 (Career Notes: rm section, uncited information about living person). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Sania Mirza
Country (sports) India
ResidenceHyderabad, India
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro2003
PlaysRight (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$ 1,435,879
Singles
Career record202–105(64.6%)
Career titles1 WTA, 12 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 27 (August 27, 2007)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3r (2005, 2008)
French Open2r (2007)
Wimbledon2r (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009)
US Open4r (2005)
Doubles
Career record149–76
Career titles8 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 18 (September 10, 2007)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (2007, 2008)
French Open3R (2006)
WimbledonQF (2008)
US OpenQF (2007)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (2009)
French Open2R (2007)
Wimbledon3R (2006)
US OpenQF (2007)
Last updated on: June 15, 2009.
Sania Mirza
Medal record
Women's Tennis
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha Mixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha Singles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha Team

Sania Mirza (Template:Lang-ur); born 15 November 1986[1]), is an Indian tennis player. She started her tennis career in 2003. In 2004 she was awarded the Arjuna award by the Indian Government.

Early life

Mirza was born to a sports journalist, Imran Mirza and her mother Nasima in Mumbai. She was brought up in Hyderabad in a religious Muslim family.[2][3] 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.[4][5]

Career

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.[6]

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.[7]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. Partnering 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. She crashed out in the first round of Roland Garros, losing to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva. She also lost in the second round of the doubles (with Chuang) and mixed doubles (with Mahesh Bhupathi) She participated in the 2009 AEGON Classic and reached the semifinals, losing to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 3-6,6-0,6-3, who eventually won the title.

Mirza defeated Anna-Lena Gronefeld in the first round of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. She then fell to #28 Sorana Cirstea in the second round.

Career finals

Singles

Wins (1 WTA/12 ITF)

Has reached 4 finals; winning 1 at the 2005 Hyderabad Open.

Sania Mirza at the Hyderabad Open in 2006
Sania Mirza at the 2007 Australian Open, during her first-round womens doubles match

Doubles

Wins (12)

Legend: Before 2009 Legend: Starting in 2009
Grand Slam tournaments (0)
WTA Championships (0)
Tier I (0) Premier Mandatory (0)
Tier II (2) Premier 5 (0)
Tier III (3) Premier (0)
Tier IV & V (2) International (1)
ITF Circuit (4)
No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
1. January 7, 2002 Manila, Philippines Hard India Radhika Tulpule China Yan-Hua Dong
China Yao Zhang
6–4, 6–3
2. Mar. 3, 2003 Benin City, Nigeria Hard United Kingdom Rebecca Dandeniya Germany Franziska Etzel
Austria Christina Obermoser
6–3, 6–0
3. Feb. 22, 2004 Hyderabad, India Hard South Africa Liezel Huber China Ting Li
China Tian Tian Sun
7–6, 6–4
4. Aug. 15, 2004 London, Great Britain Hard India Rushmi Chakravarthi United Kingdom Anna Hawkins
South Africa Nicole Rencken
6–3, 6–2
5. Oct. 10, 2004 Lagos, Nigeria Hard New Zealand Shelley Stephens South Africa Surina De Beer
South Africa Chanelle Scheepers
6–1, 6–4
6. February 19, 2006 Bangalore, India Hard South Africa Liezel Huber Russia Anastassia Rodionova
Russia Elena Vesnina
6–3, 6–3
7. September 24, 2006 Kolkata, India Carpet South Africa Liezel Huber Ukraine Yulia Beygelzimer
Ukraine Yuliana Fedak
6–4, 6–0
8. May 14, 2007 Fes, Morocco Clay United States Vania King Romania Andreea Vanc
Russia Anastassia Rodionova
6–1, 6–2
9. July 22, 2007 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard United States Bethanie Mattek Russia Alina Jidkova
Belarus Tatiana Poutchek
7–6(4), 7–5
10. July 29, 2007 Stanford, U.S. Hard Israel Shahar Pe'er Belarus Victoria Azarenka
Russia Anna Chakvetadze
6–4, 7–6(5)
11. August 25, 2007 New Haven, U.S. Hard Italy Mara Santangelo Zimbabwe Cara Black
South Africa Liezel Huber
6-2, 6-2
12. April 12, 2009 Ponte Vedra Beach, U.S. Clay Chinese Taipei Chuang Chia-jung Czech Republic Kveta Peschke
Czech Republic Lisa Raymond
6–3, 4–6, [10–7]

Mixed Doubles (1)

Wins (1)

Year Championship Partnering Opponents in Final Score/Final
2009 Australian Open India Mahesh Bhupathi France Nathalie Dechy
Israel Andy Ram
6–3, 6–1

Singles performance timeline

Sania Mirza at the 2007 Australian Open

Singles performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2009 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which will end on March 23, 2009.

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Career SR Career W-L
Australian Open A 3R 2R 2R 3R 2R 0 / 5 7–5
French Open A 1R 1R 2R A 1R 0 / 4 1–4
Wimbledon A 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 0 / 5 4–5
U.S. Open A 4R 2R 3R A 0 / 3 6–3
Grand Slam Win-Loss 0-0 6-4 2-4 5-4 3-2 2-3 18-17
Year End Ranking 206 33 66 31 99 N/A N/A
  • A = did not participate in the tournament
  • Q = Qualifying round loss

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-8 (quarter finals up to finalist).

Controversy

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.[8] A further report published the next day on this fatwa elaborated that Mirza was unfazed by the comments. [9] There were rumors that Jamiat-ulema-e-Hind had threatened to disrupt her tennis matches. But the group rejected such rumors, saying that they don't stop anyone from playing, although they found her clothing offensive. Nevertheless, the Calcutta police tightened security measures to protect her.[10] Mirza's doctor received threatening letters demanding that he cease to treat her since she was allegedly dishonoring Islam.[11] Sania Mirza, a Shia Muslim from Vijaynagar, also attracted a response from The All-India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board. The Board disapproved the edict issued by some Muslim clerics on dresses worn by Mirza while playing and asked them not to meddle in [the] sports arena. [citation needed]. Mirza is a practicing Muslim who prays fives times a day, and fasts during Ramadan.[3]

After Mirza spoke at a conference on safe sex in November 2005, Islamic groups claimed "she is detached from Islam" and that she is a "corrupting influence on the youth." Mirza clarified her stance by saying that she was opposed to pre-marital sex.[12]

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 community.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

Personal Life

Sania Mirza is engaged to Sohrab Mirza, a business man from Hyderabad, whom she knew from her school days. However they are unlikely to marry anytime soon as Sohrab plans to pursue higher studies and Sania wishes to continue with her tennis career.[15][16][17]

References

  1. ^ a b "Sania Mirza profile". Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  2. ^ The enigma that is Sania Mirza- tennis star and so much more Sportingo.
  3. ^ a b Amelia Gentleman (5 February 2006) India's most wanted Guardian. Retrieved on 2009-09-30.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ "Sania Mirza gets Padma Shri". Rediff. Retrieved March 9, 2009.
  7. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121255701700.htm
  8. ^ Randeep Ramesh (2005). "Fatwa orders Indian tennis star to cover up". The Guardian. Retrieved April 11 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Sania unfazed by 'fatwa'!". Asian News International. 2005. Retrieved April 11 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  10. ^ ""Protection for Indian tennis star"". 2005. Retrieved April 27 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  11. ^ http://www.tennisgrandstand.com/archives/228
  12. ^ a b ""Sania Mirza Indian tennis star refuses to play with Israeli"". 2006. Retrieved April 27 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  13. ^ "Sania Mirza 'considered quitting'". BBC.
  14. ^ "Mirza boycotts Indian tournaments". BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  15. ^ "India's Mirza finds her love match". The Guardian. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  16. ^ "Sania, Sohrab have been friends for long". Times of India. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  17. ^ "Sania tied in love-all match, getting engaged to Sohrab". IBN Live. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-29.


Sources

  1. India Today dt. September 19, 2005 - Cover Story titled Sania Mania.
  2. ^ Sania Mirza gets Padmashri,January 26, 2006
  3. Sania Mirza Searches for Additional Base
  4. Sania Mirza Gets a doctorate
Preceded by WTA Newcomer of the Year
2005
Succeeded by