More Sania Mirza Pics !!

why we like her?

Sania is a hard-working, overachieving phenom who has stayed remarkably down-to-earth. Despite her successes on the WTA circuit, Sania still travels with her mother and giggles like a schoolgirl when discussing her private life. Watching Sania blush her way through interviews, it's easy to forget that her fierce serve and powerful game make her one of the better female tennis players on the planet.

why is she famous?

This tennis sensation is dispatching foes at a historic rate. Sania is the first Indian woman to advance to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament, the first to win a WTA singles title and the first to win a junior Grand Slam title. To date, she's beaten two top 10 players, and has successfully cracked the WTA's Top 50 rankings.

overall rating
76

When it comes to sizing up her game, Sania Mirza is remarkably honest. "I'm not that fast on my feet," she admits, "But I have amazing timing on the ball, which is why, although I'm not that strong, I still hit the ball harder than most of the players on the circuit."

Indeed, her hard-hitting power game has drawn comparisons to Romanian legend Ilie Nastase, another player who knew a thing or two about driving home a point. "It just suited the way I'm built," she explains. "Maybe if I played squash or badminton I needed more movement, more reflexes. So, it just happened."

Call it destiny if you like, but the idea of things "just happening" seems to have been a consistent thread through Sania's young life. The Mumbai native began playing tennis at the age of 6, noting the game "just suited my style and personality."

And what a fit it's been. Since turning professional, Sania has won a 2003 Wimbledon Championships doubles title, the 2004 Hyderabad Open doubles championship and the 2005 Hyderabad Open singles crown. Along the way, she's captured the hearts and minds of her fellow countrymen, igniting a phenomenon known as "Sania Mania."


personality & talent
82

Friendly and effervescent off the court, Sania is all business when she's on it. The Hyderabad Open champ has valiantly played through severe abdominal pulls as well as other nagging injuries that would have had lesser competitors begging out of the action.

Sania was even voted Best Player of the Day at the 2005 U.S. Open after defeating Marion Bartoli despite suffering from badly bleeding toes. That fierce determination has led publications like The Times of India to label her "Super Sania."

When not serving aces and smashing volleys, Sania likes to express her personality through the cheeky T-shirts she wears to her post-game press conferences. Among the messages she's worn across her chest are "I'm Cute?", "Don't Get in My Way," and "Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History."

In her spare time, Sania claims that she likes "being at home, because I am hardly at home; I am always traveling. I like staying at home, just watch a movie at home. Surf the Net."

sexiness
77

Sania's sexiness is a matter of great interest in her native India. As she is Muslim by birth, many believe that Sania's exposed flesh is not in keeping with her religion's traditional standards of dress and decorum. On September 8, 2005, the Hindustan Times reported that a religious scholar named Haseeb-ul-hasan Siddiqui had issued a fatwa on Sania because of the clothing -- or lack thereof -- she wore when competing. The All-India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board has since called the fatwa "unnecessary and uncalled for," but the debate still rages among some.

"As long as I am winning, people shouldn't care whether my skirt is six inches long or six feet long," Sania said following the fracas. "How I dress is a very personal thing. It is scary that every time I wear a T-shirt, it becomes a talking point for the next three days."

When it comes to men, Sania has a very specific idea of what she likes. "He has to be good looking and over six feet tall," she says. "No, on a serious note, I think he needs to understand me and he needs to be a nice person and not have any ego hassles. I need a guy who understands me." Think you fit the bill? Keep in mind that you'll have to get by Naseem Mirza, Sania's mother and constant traveling companion on the pro circuit.

accomplishments & fame
77

When you come from a country of a billion people, your fame has a way of building rapidly. Since bursting onto the professional scene, Sania has helped to put Indian tennis on the map by winning the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls' doubles title, the 2004 Hyderabad Open doubles championship and the 2005 Hyderabad Open singles crown.

Strong showings at other events (like the Australian Open, where she went head-to-head with Serena Williams, and the U.S. Open, where she took on Maria Sharapova) have only added to Sania's mystique. She is currently the highest-ranked woman player to ever emerge from India, and she has defeated two top 10 players in Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova.

Sania's stellar play and winning personality have won her an Arjuna Award, India's top sports honor, and a place on the South Asian cover of Time magazine, where she was included in the publication's list of "Asia's 50 heroes."

Sania's goal is to stay in the WTA's top 50 for three to four years. "Let us see how it goes," she says. "A lot of factors come into play, like luck and destiny."

natural beauty
73

Only 19 years old, Sania is still growing into her 5'7", 130-lb. frame, as evidenced by her round, healthy face and still-lingering baby fat. Nonetheless, Sania has been blessed with a tall, strong frame, gorgeous long hair and deep brown eyes. She also happens to look great in a hat, which is difficult to say about most women.

personal style
70

On the court, Sania is your typical tennis jock, sporting a range of form-fitting clothes courtesy of her sponsor, Adidas. Although her favorite colors are red and black, for the sake of competition, she wears a splash of soft yellows, blues and whites.

Away from the action, her taste isn't quite so discriminating. "I wear everything," she confesses. "Salwars, jeans, pants, everything. I mostly don't have time to wear all that, though. I am mostly in my tracks!" Sania generally accentuates her look with a nose ring, multiple earrings and her patented black-frame glasses.

Secret Wish

To be Sania's doubles partner, on and off the court.
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