Tennis: Top five achievements of veteran Sania Mirza

The Indian star has accumulated a huge list of accolades in her long career.

Sania Mirza is one of the most popular female sportspersons in India. She is credited for bringing limelight to women’s tennis and inspiring scores of young athletes who want to emulate her upon growing up.

In her long and illustrious career, Sania Mirza has won several trophies, and awards. She is the highest ranked female singles player from India and has a legendary status in the doubles circuit, playing with some of the best players in women’s and mixed doubles. 

Looking back at her career and the list of accolades is massive. She has represented India with pride and following are five of her best achievements:

5. Three Grand Slam titles in Women’s Doubles

She has a fantastic record when it comes to the doubles bracket. The Indian tennis star is one of the best doubles players India has ever produced. In the Women’s Doubles circuit, she has won three Grand Slam titles.

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the 2015 Wimbledon and 2015 US Open titles, entering as the top seeds in the latter. The pair went on to win their third Grand Slam title with the victory at the 2016 Australian Open. 

4. Three Grand Slam titles in Mixed Doubles

Sania Mirza is a force to reckon with in both Women’s and Mixed doubles. Her power packed game and signature forehand are well-renowned. Emulating her exploits in the Women’s Doubles, she also has three Grand Slam victories in the Mixed Doubles category.

The Indian duo of Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza won the 2009 Australian Open. The pair won their second Grand Slam together later in 2012 by winning the French Open. Sania secured her third Grand Slam in Mixed Doubles by winning the 2014 US Open with Bruno Soares. 

3. WTA Finals Title

WTA Finals is the annual year-end competition played by the top professionals in each category. Sania has won the prestigious tournament on two occasions. She is also the only female Indian player to win a WTA title of any kind.

Sania Mirza and Cara Black won the WTA Finals in 2014 after a successful year. However, partnering up with Martina Hingis next year, the Indian player went on to defend her crown at the WTA Finals in 2015. She also ended 2015 as the World No.1 ranked doubles player.

2. National Awards

Sania has been a recipient of several national honors for her incredible contribution to sports. She has been honored with the Arjuna Award in 2004 by the Government of India. The Indian star later went on to win the Padma Shri in 2006.

She was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2015, which is the highest sporting honor in the country. Most notably, the veteran also received the Padma Bhushan award in 2016, which is the third-highest civilian award in India. 

1. Medals in multi-sports events

She has represented India in several international meets as well, be it the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games or the Olympics. Sania Mirza has won seven medals across different editions of the Asian Games in both women’s and mixed doubles categories. Her most recent gold came at the 2014 Incheon Games.

Overall, the Indian athlete has won 14 medals across all multi-sports events. The collection has an impressive six gold medals for the country. Unfortunately, Mirza could not secure a medal at any of the Olympics and will target the 2020 Tokyo Games to do so. 

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