India’s best-ever women’s tennis player Sania Mirza, who bid adieu to competitive tennis last week, arrived at the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy on Saturday to a touching welcome when the players accorded a ‘guard of honour’.
“There was no right or wrong time to stop playing. For me, it was a bunch of things. My body took the beating. I have had so many surgeries. It takes me 45 minutes to warm up before the match. The physios are working more on me than the amount of time I was spending on the court,” Sania said in her first media interaction after bidding adieu to the sport last week.
“I had a 20-year-long career. I wanted to finish on my own terms. I want to finish when I am still playing well. Finishing playing a Grand Slam was the perfect way to end my career. I also want different things in life,” she said.
“I don’t have that motivation and emotional capacity that lets me be at this level. The issue is not the level, but the work ethic. I feel if you need to push yourself for what you love, I thought it was time.
Tennis Star Sania Mirza receives ‘Guard of Honour’ from young tennis players at Sania Mirza Tennis Academy, Murthuzuguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Saturday. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL/The Hindu
“Yes, I will give more time to tennis and the youngsters, especially the next generation at the Sania Mirza Tennis Academies and also to my son Izhaan.
“Frankly, I am looking forward to a quiet life ahead.”
Reflecting on the plans for Sunday at LB Stadium SATS tennis complex when she will be playing for one last time with her best friend and former doubles partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands and others, Sania said they would be playing a couple of sets, doubles, mixed doubles to say bye at the venue where it (her illustrious career) started.
“My message to all the youngsters who want to do outside the box is to believe in yourself. There are so many people who are going to tell you that you can’t do that. But, you have to be your biggest cheerleader. Believe in yourself, back yourself, if you don’t back yourself, no one will,” Sania said about her message to the fans and young talent in different disciplines.
“We need a system to support these young girls. If we have a solid system in place, we can produce champions. We can’t produce them every 20 to 30 years. They have to come up almost every year. If we put a system in place, we can do that,” Sania explained.
On the existing system in sports, Sania said she doesn’t want to rate it. “You can speak to anyone that made it to the top 100 in the last few years like Rohan, Mahesh, Leander, Somdev. They have come here despite the system, not because of the system. They did it all themselves. There is none that has come from the system,” she said.
“Now the kids are playing at the age of six. When I started what to do with our body, we were already 14. I have learnt a lot from watching people. The fact of the matter is, we will try and do whatever we can as individuals but we can do only so much as individuals. It is a costly sport.
“There was a kid in America, he reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. That is not possible from this part of the country. They have a junior development programme, going to play under-18 and other age categories. But, there is no system here.”
Questioned whether she would take up an administrative role, Sania said a ‘no’ at the moment. “I want to take a break. I am open to see a change in the system and open to be part of it in whatever capacity I can,” she said.
“I see a lot of talent here. I have some academies in Dubai but this is the best facility with 12 courts, gym, swimming pool. We had nothing 20 years ago. We were struggling to get courts and find tennis balls. Hyderabad didn’t have a hard court. There was only one at a gentleman’s home. We have to request him to let us train. It was crazy. How can we dream of winning Grand Slams?,” Sania pondered.
“Once the system was in place for badminton, we saw the results. There is a national academy in Hyderabad and Gopi runs it. We need to have a system in place, infra, coaches, and facilities,” she said.
On missing an Olympic medal, Sania said if there were to be probably a match she would get back, that would be the Olympics. “For me, playing for my country in the Olympics was everything. Those two matches still give nightmares. The semifinal and bronze medal matches (2016 Rio Games). But, you can’t have everything, you win some and you lose some. You can’t be too greedy,” she said.
“I am happy that I have achieved whatever I could so far. Sure if something that is missing was an Olympic medal.”
“When I won the Junior Wimbledon doubles title (2003) and came back to Hyderabad, the kind of welcome I was accorded, I think that was the first moment I felt I had arrived on the stage. It was crazy and overwhelming. The reception I got and it was an open top bus procession. The moment I felt people started recognizing me. Probably that was the time I gave my first autograph. That moment is memorable,” Sania said of her most memorable moment.
ALSO READ - Sania Mirza’s career timeline (1999-2023)
On her best moments with different partners, Sania said she shared some wonderful memories with Martina Hingis and Mahesh Bhupathi. “The way we (Sania and Hingis) played, we didn’t lose for six months on the trot. We won 11 tournaments and 40-odd matches on the trot. Those are the special moments. Any athlete will say that the feeling of invincibility and the feel that you are going to win everything is the feeling we die for. We won the Wimbledon and the US Open that year. [In] Those moments, we feel all the hard work is worth it. We were in the zone for six months. That doesn’t happen much,” the former World No.1 in women’s doubles said.
On the Women’s Premier League, Sania said she was with them on Friday (as mentor RCB) and had a really good day. “I had a really good day, spoke to so many young girls. Most of them come from small cities. To have those opportunities was great. The team which was bought for such money, and the base they got now, is incredible. It is so good for women’s sports in the country. It is a huge step,” she said.
Sania Mirza along with USA’s Bethanie Mattek-Sands at Sania Mirza Tennis Academy, Murthuzuguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Saturday. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL/The Hindu
Bethanie said it was amazing to see such reception (at the Academy when the players lined up to give a guard of honour). “Sania has done a lot for women’s tennis, women in sport. We have been friends for long. I have a lot of respect for each other. The career, ups and downs, injuries and trophies, we have grown up together,” Bethanie said.
“I don’t think my life would have been the same without her. Very excited and happy to be here,” she said.
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