Sania Mirza, 28, has become the first Indian woman to be crowned the world's top-ranked doubles tennis player.
Mirza had once been tipped for success as a singles player after she became the first Indian to win a WTA singles title in 2005. She followed up her success in her hometown of Hyderabad by reaching the fourth round of the US Open in 2005 and two years later broke into the top 30.
But from then on her singles career went into freefall, with injuries taking a toll.
India went the whole of the 20th century (and the first decade of the 21st) without a female no. 1 in any professional sport. But this month, the city of Hyderabad alone has produced two such winners, in the form of Mirza and Saina Nehwal (who was crowned badminton world no. 1 on Apr. 2 but has slipped to no. 2 since).
Viswanathan Anand—Indian chess grandmaster—is often cited as India’s most underrated sports champion, but Mirza, too, has a good claim to the title.
Throughout her career, she has been the subject of off-court controversies, each time through no fault of hers. There has been a persistent campaign—on social media and in the comments sections of news sites—to belittle her tennis achievements.
But from then on her singles career went into freefall, with injuries taking a toll.
India went the whole of the 20th century (and the first decade of the 21st) without a female no. 1 in any professional sport. But this month, the city of Hyderabad alone has produced two such winners, in the form of Mirza and Saina Nehwal (who was crowned badminton world no. 1 on Apr. 2 but has slipped to no. 2 since).
Viswanathan Anand—Indian chess grandmaster—is often cited as India’s most underrated sports champion, but Mirza, too, has a good claim to the title.
Throughout her career, she has been the subject of off-court controversies, each time through no fault of hers. There has been a persistent campaign—on social media and in the comments sections of news sites—to belittle her tennis achievements.