Meet Sania Mirza, India’s tennis queen and outspoken influencer: the millionaire athlete has mansions in Hyderabad and Dubai and luxury cars from BMW, Mercedes and Porsche
- She won one Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles title in Hyderabad in 2005, but has 43 trophies in doubles and mixed doubles, including six grand slams
- She’s won millions in prize money as India’s top women’s tennis player from 2003 to 2013, topped up by endorsements with Adidas, Wilson, Air India and Tata Tea
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, 35, announced in January that she plans to retire this year – but she’s already having second thoughts.
A few days after making her big announcement, she admitted that it was too soon as she still enjoys playing tennis and plans to “give 100 per cent for the rest of the year and doesn’t really want to think about what’s going to happen at the end of the year”, she told India Today.
The queen of Indian tennis
When a six-year-old Mirza expressed her interest in playing tennis, her local club coach refused her, saying she was smaller than the racket. Her mother fought for her though, and got her in. “After a month, he called my parents and said, ‘You have to watch her play as I’ve never seen a six-year-old play like this,’” she recalled to The Indian Express.
Since then, she has gone on to put Indian women’s tennis on the global map. She was the first Indian to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles title – in Hyderabad in 2005 – and the first to win a grand slam title in any format.
After injuries in 2007, she focused on doubles and went on to win six slams (three in doubles and three in mixed doubles) as well as two WTA finals titles. She won her last title – her 43rd doubles trophy – last September, meaning she has more WTA doubles titles than any other active player on the tour, per 24 News.
A millionaire with a fabulous life
Ranked by the WTA as India’s No 1 tennis player from 2003-2013, Mirza is also the first Indian female tennis player to earn more than US$1 million in prize money. Through the years, that has grown to nearly US$7 million, per SportSkeeda, accounting for more than one-third of her US$25 million net worth.