Sania Mirza: Being

“My serve used to be a weakness and I don't think it's a weakness anymore. I'm trying to come a lot more to the net and trying to be more offensive — not in terms of hitting the ball harder, which I think is quite hard for me to hit it any harder than I do — but in terms of building the point and coming to the net and being offensive at the net. A lot of the top girls barely do (come to net) except like Mauresmo or Henin does it a little bit, but a lot of girls don't do it.”

Sania Mirza

Source: Tennis Week "The Tennis Week Interview: Sania Mirza"

Girl , Thinking

“There's no doubt that my forehand and backhand can match anyone, it's about the place that they're put in. I can hit the ball as hard as anyone can, but I think it's more about where I'm hitting the ball. Instead of 90 mph it can just be a 50 mph forehand, but the placement is more important. So I've been working on that a lot more. When you're working on things, maybe your performance drops a little bit or you're trying new things in every tournament you're going in so that's just a process of being an athlete because you're learning, you're adding new things to your game. When I sit with my notes, for instance, instead of hitting a hard forehand return, I would like to hit an angled forehand return instead.”

Sania Mirza

Source: Tennis Week The Tennis Week Interview: Sania Mirza http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=148586&page=98

Game , Thinking , Learning

“Six-year-old girls in a place like Hyderabad did not play; tennis was a recreation like badminton or gardening. So I draw inspiration from my parents. Steffi Graf has always been my tennis idol; always Steffi Graf. Just the way she was and the way she carried herself on the court and off the court. She does inspire me today. Everyone asks me "Who is your favorite tennis player?" And I always say "Steffi Graf." I just cannot imagine anyone being better than her, you know? I think a lot of people love Steffi Graf for the way she was on and off the court.”

Sania Mirza

Source: Tennis Week "The Tennis Week Interview: Sania Mirza"

Love , People , Way , Imagination

“Playing for the country is an honour. The ultimate honour, in fact. If you want to look at it as pressure, you will find it very difficult to cope with the expectations of a billion people. I look at it as an opportunity, as being among the few who have been given this opportunity to make the country proud.”

Sania Mirza

Source: Boria Majumdar I'll play with anyone for my country: Sania Mirza http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/london-olympics-2012/news/Ill-play-with-anyone-for-my-country-Sania-Mirza/articleshow/14740066.cms?referral=PM, The Times of India, 8 July 2012

People , Country

“We players are as normal human beings as anyone else, and we also have the right to live a normal life. I don't understand why people talk so much about the way we dress up, how we walk, what we eat, and every little detail of ours. Players are the real heroes. Sports have both respect and fame, and I am fortunate enough to be a sportsperson.”

Sania Mirza

Source: Ekta Yadav "Bhopal's adulation has energised me: Sania Mirza"

Life , People , Way , Understanding

“I think being a woman celebrity is the hardest thing in India…. People will ask many things, what you wear, how you speak, when you will have a baby and other things.”

Sania Mirza

Source: PTI Sania for change of attitude towards women in sports http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tennis/top-stories/Sania-for-change-of-attitude-towards-women-in-sports/articleshow/24779075.cms, The Times of India, 27 October 2013

People , Thinking , Baby

“The honour and respect that a country earns by being represented at mega-sporting events like the Grand Slams has to be seen to be believed, experienced to be fully understood.”

Sania Mirza

Source: Arun Sharma"Sachin's my inspiration - he's also excellent at tennis: Sania Mirza"

Sport , Country

“Fitness is defined differently by everyone, but for me, the most important thing is being healthy. As tennis players, what we do is not the healthiest thing. We almost abuse our bodies.”

Sania Mirza

In Zee News: I quit singles to prolong my career, says Sania http://zeenews.india.com/sports/tennis/i-quit-singles-to-prolong-my-career-says-sania_757389.html, 2 March 2013

“Well, I'm not a yoga person. I've been told to try yoga. I just can't get myself to do yoga. I pray four or five times a day so it's about 10 minutes of total concentration… Also because when you're trying to focus only on God, you're trying to get everything else out of your head and just have that single focus. Trust me, it's very hard to do that four or five times a day. I mean, it's hard enough to do it once a day, but four or five times a day to just switch off the world and focus everything on God is difficult to do, and I do try to do that. I think that's one of the reasons yoga is not part of my routine and I feel this is better because I am actually being constructive, but in yoga I'm just going blank.”

Sania Mirza

Source: Tennis Week "The Tennis Week Interview: Sania Mirza"

God , World , Feeling , Thinking