India, World No 1, Grand Slam doubles champion – Everything you always wanted to know about Sania Mirza (but did not have time to find out)
No other Indian woman has gone as far as Sania Mirza on the international tennis circuit. Here’s everything you need to know about the six-time Grand Slam doubles champion
Sania Mirza at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Image Credit: Action Plus / Panoramic
Who is Sania Mirza?
Sania Mirza is an Indian tennis player, hailing from the Indian city of Hyderabad. She is the most successful female tennis player from India.
Has Sania Mirza retired?
Last year, Sania Mirza had announced that she would retire at the end of the 2022 season. However, a tendon injury in her forearm forced her to miss the 2022 US Open and the Indian could not play any tournament after the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Mirza did play the 2023 Australian Open with world No. 11 Anna Danilina, of Kazakhstan in women’s doubles and countryman Rohan Bopanna in the mixed. In a recent interview, she confirmed that she will retire after the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships.
How many Grand Slams has Sania Mirza won?
Sania Mirza has won six Grand Slam doubles titles – three in women’s doubles and three in mixed doubles. Here is a recap of her wins at the Majors –
Women’s Doubles
- 2015 – Wimbledon (with Martina Hingis)
- 2015 – US Open (with Martina Hingis)
- 2016 – Australian Open (with Martina Hingis)
Mixed Doubles
- 2009 – Australian Open (with Mahesh Bhupathi)
- 2012 – Roland Garros (with Mahesh Bhupathi)
- 2014 – US Open (with Bruno Soares)
What is Sania Mirza’s best performance in a Grand Slam singles event?
Sania Mirza’s best performance in the singles draw at a Grand Slam came at the 2005 US Open, where she reached the fourth round before losing to top seed Maria Sharapova.
She also reached the third round of the Australian Open on two occasions (2005, 2008) and the second round of Roland-Garros (2007, 2011) and Wimbledon (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009).
Prior to Mirza, no other Indian woman had reached the third round in a singles Grand Slam main draw. She ended her singles career with a 21-26 record at the Majors.
How many WTA titles has Sania Mirza won?
By the end of the 2022 season, Sania Mirza had won 43 WTA doubles titles and one WTA singles title.
Besides the three Grand Slams in women’s doubles she had won, Mirza also won the season-ending WTA Tour Finals on two occasions, 2014 (with Cara Black) and 2015 (with Hingis).
In singles, she won the WTA Hyderabad Open in 2005 – making her the first, and to date only, Indian woman to win a WTA Tour singles title.
What is Sania Mirza’s best WTA ranking?
Sania Mirza reached the No 1 ranking in women’s doubles on April 13, 2005 and remained at the top spot for a total of 91 weeks. As of 31 December 2022, only seven other women had spent more weeks at the world No 1 spot.
In singles, she peaked at No 27 in the rankings in August 2007. You can find her current ranking and rankings history on her WTA Tour profile page.
Why did Sania Mirza quit singles?
Mirza played her last competitive match in singles in 2012 at Eastboune. Due to several injuries, including her wrist, the Indian decided to retire from the singles game and focus on the doubles format.
How much prize money has Sania Mirza won?
As of December 31, 2022, Sania Mirza has won $7.24 million in career prize money. You can find her updated prize money stats on her WTA Tour profile page.
Who are in her family?
Sania Mirza’s parents are Imran Mirza, a sports journalist, and Naseema, who worked in a printing business. She also has a younger sister, Anam.
She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and the pair have a son, Izhaan Mirza Malik.
Is Sania Mirza married?
Sania Mirza married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik on 12 April 2010. They have one son, Izhaan Mirza Malik, born in October 2018.
Several media reports suggest that the couple have separated or are heading for a divorce though neither party has made an official comment on the same.
Is Sania Mirza on social media?
Mirza is fairly active on social media. She is among the most followed tennis players online, with 10,7 million followers on Instagram, 9.1 million followers on Twitter and more than 16 million followers on Facebook.
