Sania Mirza's greatest legacy

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND – JUNE 19: Sania Mirza of India in action during the doubles match against Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Jie Zheng of China during day four of the AEGON International on June 19, 2012 in Eastbourne, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Sania Mirza has been a trailblazer in Indian tennis. And the 25 year old is not done yet. She’s one of the country’s brightest medal prospects at the London Olympic Games and certainly has the game to be a relevant figure in women’s tennis for a few more years, her body and motivation willing.

But if you’re looking for Sania Mirza’s greatest legacy – it is not going to be the hardware in her cupboard – the 2 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, the 14 WTA doubles titles, or the 1 WTA singles title she won in Hyderabad. It isn’t going to be in her career best ranking of no. 7 in doubles or no. 27 in singles. And it isn’t going to be in the $2.6 million prize money that she has earned in her career – making her the nation’s top earning sportswoman.

Instead Sania’s greatest legacy can be seen in the draws of ITF events taking place this year across India. Featured in those draws more than a dozen Indian teenagers, all aged between 16 to 19 – all hoping to follow Sania’s footsteps and make it big on the WTA Tour.

Most of these girls would have been 9 to 12 years old when Sania broke through on the international circuit in 2005. With every forehand winner and every match win, Sania inspired a legion of young girls to dream big – breaking a glass ceiling for Indian women in tennis. Sooner rather than later, one of these girls will breakthrough and join Sania on the WTA Tour – inspiring another generation of girls who could one day do for Indian tennis what Li Na has done for Chinese tennis.

Sania is followed by 12 Indian women in the top 1000 of the world rankings – all under the age of 21 and 8 of them being teenagers. Although none of these players are currently ranked in the top 500, it’s only a matter of time before they get there.

This year, there have been 7 ITF events in the country; with 4 more events and a WTA challenger event lined up in the coming months. And Indian girls have been making their presence felt in these events, which is the launch pad for professional tennis players across the world.

Consider these statistics – the first three of those ITF events saw 16, 9 and 7 Indians respectively feature in the 32 player draws. 4 Indians reached the second round in Aurangabad, 2 in Mumbai and one in Bangalore – that was Kyra Shroff, who went all the way to the semi finals there. Shroff does not turn 20 until October and is currently India’s second highest ranked player at no. 543. At the age of 12, Kyra was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes but that has not stopped her from chasing her dreams. Four doses of insulin a day are all she needs to keep her going. “Life needs to go on. My father, Firdaus Shroff advises me to take it in my stride, consider it a speed breaker and drive over it,” said Shroff.

Over the last 2 months there have been 4 ITF events in the capital, New Delhi. The 32 player draws were dominated by locals – with Indians taking 25, 27, 24 and 25 spots respectively.

In the first of these four events, 12 Indian girls reached the second round, 3 advanced to the semi finals including unheralded Natasha Palha, who reached the finals before losing to Taipei’s Pei-Chi Lee. Palha is only 18 years old, hails from Goa and is currently ranked 882 in the world.

In the second, 13 Indian girls reached the second round, and 3 of them, including Palha, made the semis. In an all-Indian final, 19 year old Delhiite Rishika Sunkara beat 16 year old qualifier Simran Kaur Sethi to win her first ITF singles title.

In the third, 12 Indians reached the second round, with 3 of them reaching the semi finals and in another all-Indian final, 19 year old Ankita Raina beat 20 year old Prerna Bhambri, cousin of Yuki Bhambri, who is currently India’s top ranked male player. Bhambri won an ITF title last year herself to make her presence felt in the Indian tennis scene.

Raina was back in the finals of the next ITF event in the capital where she beat 16 year old Rutuja Bhosale in the semi finals before losing to Japan’s Miyabi Inoue in the final. Raina and Bhosale were two of 12 Indian girls to reach the second round in that ITF event. With 3 ITF final appearances this year, Raina, who trains in Pune, has climbed to no. 646 in the world – making her the third highest ranked Indian on the tour.

The bespectacled Bhosale, ranked 716 in the world, is another one to watch out for. She reached the junior girls doubles semi finals at the Australian Open this year and was a key member of India’s successful Fed Cup campaign earlier this year.

Things were very different just two years ago in 2010 – when only 3 ITF events were held in India. In the first one at Mandya, 7 Indian women managed to reach the second round, 2 of them making the quarters and one making the semi finals. The following two events saw only 2 Indian women go as far as the second round.

The young brigade are not coy to give Sania credit for showing them the way. Ankita Raina says “Sania is the first girl from India who has achieved major milestones. So I get motivation and also the belief that if she being an Indian can do it, then so can I” while Rutuja Bhosale comments “Sania is doing really well and seeing her doing well, it has pumped me up to do well and become a legend like her and after her. Players are taking the sport more seriously now and they are trying their best to do well.”

Whether Sania wins a medal in London or not, she can be rest assured that her legacy is in the safe hands of these young Indian girls. When future generations look back, Sania Mirza’s legacy will be clear for all to see.