On Sania Mirza's birthday, we recall the 9 most iconic moments from her career
Doubles World No. 1 Sania Mirza celebrates her 30th birthday today, and the first ever female No. 1 from India has had many exciting moments in her career so far – both on and off the court! From starting off as a singles champion and even hitting the top 30, Mirza was forced by injury to focus only on the doubles. But perhaps that was a blessing in disguise; Mirza took to the format like a duck to water, and truly hit her stride last year after pairing with former Singles No.1 Martina Hingis.
Her partnership with the Swiss Miss helped Mirza significantly up her game, and her aggressive forehand took centrestage. Although the pair, who swept WTA titles and Grand Slams together, split up earlier in 2016, that did nothing to stop the Indian’s juggernaut. Quickly pairing up with Czech ace Barbora Strycova, Mirza excelled on the Asian leg of the WTA Tour, and overtook Martina Hingis in the rankings to become the sole World No. 1.
Here are 9 moments where she proved her power on and off court:
Answering Sanjay Manjrekar
Never one to shy away from controversy, Sania Mirza was crowned year-end World No. 1 for the second year in a row – but not all were happy with the news. Former cricketer and popular commentator Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted to the news of Sania Mirza’s No. 1 ranking, saying she did not specify it was the “doubles No. 1,” which he implied was less of an achievement.
Mirza, in typical fashion, responded on Twitter, telling Manjrekar it was “obvious”.