Sania Mirza Retires: Know Unknown facts about India’s First Female Tennis Superstar
After her glittering 20-year career, Sania Mirza retires; she won 43 WTA doubles titles and one singles trophy. She is an inspiration for thousands of Indian sportswomen.
On Tuesday, Sania Mirza and her American partner Madison Keys were eliminated from the WTA Dubai event, losing (4-6, 0-6) to the Russian duo of Liudmila Samsonova and Veronika Kudermetova.
The WTA Dubai event marked the end of Sania Mirza’s international tennis career.
The most remarkable records that Sania Mirza achieved during her career:
ASIAN GAMES DEBUT – 2002
The star Indian tennis player’s favorite hunting ground is likely the Asian Games, where she achieved eight medals. Sania Mirza’s first, a bronze in mixed doubles, came in her debut appearance in Busan, South Korea at the continental showpiece in 2002, when she was just 15 years old where she partnered with Leander Paes to represent India.
| Sania Mirza Asian Games Medal | ||
| EDITION | EVENT | MEDAL |
| Busan 2002 | Mixed doubles | Bronze |
| Doha 2006 | Women’s singles | Silver |
| Doha 2006 | Mixed doubles | Gold |
| Doha 2006 | Women’s team | Silver |
| Guangzhou 2010 | Women’s singles | Bronze |
| Guangzhou 2010 | Mixed doubles | Silver |
| Incheon 2014 | Women’s doubles | Bronze |
| Incheon 2014 | Mixed doubles | Gold |
WINNING GIRLS’ DOUBLES AT WIMBLEDON 2003
Sania Mirza and Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova beamed with joy after they proudly held their trophies aloft following their triumphant victory on the final day of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in the Girls’ Doubles Final on July 6, 2003 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London.
| Sania Mirza Grand Slam titles | ||
| YEAR | GRAND SLAM | TITLE |
| 2009 | Australian Open | Mixed doubles |
| 2012 | French Open | Mixed doubles |
| 2014 | US Open | Mixed doubles |
| 2015 | Wimbledon | Women’s doubles |
| 2015 | US Open | Women’s doubles |
| 2016 | Australian Open | Women’s doubles |
HYDERABAD OPEN – 2004
Mirza teaming up with Liezel Huber to take the doubles crown at the Hyderabad Open made history when she won her first WTA title in 2004.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DEBUT – 2005
Sania Mirza at the 2005 Australian Open made her Grand Slam debut, facing off against Cindy Watson. Mirza was just 18 years old and with a wild card entry in the tournament; her nerves were palpable when she faced a local favorite who was, nearly by a decade, her senior.
AUSTRALIA OPEN – 2009
Mirza and Bhupathi, before parting ways in 2012, had won two Grand Slams together and she created history after becoming the first female player from India to win a Grand Slam, claiming the 2009 Australian Open trophy, followed by the 2012 French Open with Bhupathi.
| Sania Mirza awards | |
| YEAR | AWARD |
| 2004 | Arjuna Award |
| 2006 | Padma Shri |
| 2015 | Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award |
| 2016 | Padma Bhushan |
US OPEN MIXED DOUBLES TITLE – 2014
Sania Mirza and her partner Bruno Soares clinched their third Grand Slam mixed doubles title at the 2014 US Open. Bore prevailing 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 in an exciting match that lasted a full hour, the top-seeded Indo-Brazilian duo squandered five consecutive championship points
NUMBER 1 IN WTA’S DOUBLES RANKING – 2015
She became the first Indian woman to reach the pinnacle of the doubles rankings in Lawn Tennis. Only Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes in their respective golden eras of the late 1990s have achieved such a remarkable feat for India in the men’s doubles category.
US OPEN 2015
Top-seeded Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis of Switzerland in a lopsided match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium dominated the fourth-seeded team of Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and Casey Dellacqua of Australia at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, winning the 2015 US Open women’s doubles title in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
| Event | Achievements |
| Highest ranking | Doubles No. 1 (April 13, 2015) |
| Grand Slam titles | Six |
| Grand Slam doubles titles | Three (2015 Wimbledon, 2015 US Open, 2016 Australian Open) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles titles | Three (2009 Australian Open, 2012 French Open, 2014 US Open) |
| Asian Games medals | Eight (two golds, three silvers, three bronze) |
| Commonwealth Games medals | Two (one silver, one bronze) |
| Olympic participation | Four (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020) |
SANIA MIRZA LOOKS FORWARD TO ‘NEW INNINGS’ WITH RCB IN WPL 2023
Sania Mirza recently added another chapter to her legacy. She will be the new mentor for RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) in the Women’s Premier League 2023, further cementing her status as a pioneering figure in female athletics.
Read more- Australian Open: Feisty Sania Mirza to leave legacy for aspiring sportswomen before Farewell
Sania Mirza has been unveiled as RCB’s mentor after the WPL 2023 auction, and she will join a star-studded coaching setup led by head coach Ben Sawyer.
Sania Mirza replied to the Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan’s tweet by saying that she is looking forward to the ‘new innings’ and very excited to join hands with RCB ahead of the WPL 2023 campaign.
Thank you Shikhar 🙃 look forward to this new ‘innings’ .. so excited https://t.co/hz9UCYXxZq
— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) February 22, 2023
The franchise will be led by India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, as RCB will begin their season against Delhi Capitals on March 5 at the Brabourne stadium.
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