Here's why Sania Mirza, the doubles queen, deserves more respect

Editor’s note: This article was first published on 21st October, 2014. It is being republished in light of Sania Mirza’s elevation to World number 1 in the doubles rankings. Quick, what’s the first name that comes to your mind when you are asked who India’s best doubles player is currently? Leander Paes? Mahesh Bhupathi? Rohan Bopanna? How about Sania Mirza! Kidding, right? Well, not at all! Consider the stats and decide yourself. [caption id=“attachment_1765511” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Sania Mirza (R) and Cara Black. Getty[/caption] Paes is down to No. 29 in the world rankings and won his first doubles title of the year only last month; Bhupathi has walked away from the game after playing just a handful of matches in in the first half of the season to concentrate on his tennis league; and Bopanna is down to No.28 in the rankings after winning one title earlier in the season with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who he has now split with to team up with Canadian Daniel Nestor for the early part of the 2015 season. Sania, on the other hand, has had one of the best seasons of her career till date, winning two titles with partner Cara Black, besides reaching four other finals on the WTA Tour. The Indian, who turns 28 next month, peaked at No. 5 in the doubles rankings a few weeks ago and is currently No. 8, which would have been higher had she not skipped the WTA Wuhan Open in order to represent India the Asian Games (Incidentally, Paes and Bopanna both missed the Games in order to focus on improving their doubles ranking). But doubles prowess is not something that first comes to mind when we think of Mirza. What does come to mind is perhaps her wasted potential in the singles game (as recent as a few weeks back, Vijay Amritraj said he wished Sania had played singles longer) or her marriage to a cricketer from across the border or her glamorous life off-the-court. But by the time Sania hangs up her tennis boots, she may have re-scripted her legacy into that of a doubles specialist. And a great one at that. 2014 has been no fluke for Sania. She now has 21 WTA doubles titles in her career with as many as 12 different partners and has won at least one WTA doubles title every year since her breakthrough win in 2004 except for two seasons (2005 and 2008). The one glaring absence in her resume is a women’s doubles Grand Slam title. Sania has reached the championship round at a Slam only once in her career (with Russian Elena Vesnina at the 2011 French Open) and has been to the semi-finals at all the other majors. And while the lack of a women’s doubles slam does undermine her doubles legacy, Mirza makes up for that to a fair extent with her three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (two of them with Bhupathi). She only needs the Wimbledon title to complete a career Mixed Doubles slam. While Sania acknowledges that doubles comes naturally to Indians, she never trained to be a great doubles player. Nor does her game match the ideal prototype of a doubles specialist. The two major strengths of any doubles player are their serve and their volley – both of which were glaring weaknesses when Sania came on the scene. But what she lacks for in those departments, she makes up with her blistering forehand and her fighting qualities. Her current partner, 35-year-old Cara Black, is a former doubles World No. 1 and has won five Grand Slams in women’s and mixed each. So she certainly knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a good doubles player. “Sania is a great supportive partner. She hits the ball harder than any other girl on the circuit. Her power rattles the opponents. It is a huge weapon for us. I think we complement each other well. Her power at the back and me at the net. She is basically setting things up for me at the net. We have a lot of other variations to our game as well.” Another notable partner of Sania, the flamboyant American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, also one of her closest friends on the tour, had this to say about the Indian. “Somehow, I am at home playing with her. Mind you, she is a terrific fighter, never gives up easily. This is the beauty of her game.” With Black, Sania has qualified for the season-ending WTA Tour Finals in Singapore for the first time, where only the top eight singles players and doubles teams are invited to play - another incredible first for the Indian. Naturally, Sania is excited and looking forward to capping off her season and her partnership with Black on a high-note. “This is my first time in the year-end event and I’m really excited. It’s not easy because obviously only the best teams are there, but hopefully we can win.” In 2015, Sania will partner the current world No. 4 Su Wei Hsieh, of Chinese Taipei, on the circuit. Hsieh, who turns 29 in January, has won two of the last six slams in women’s doubles with Chinese partner Shuai Peng and Sania will be hoping to win that elusive women’s doubles slam next year. Beyond that, there’s the Rio Olympics in 2016 where Sania will be a medal contender in the mixed doubles with either Paes or Bopanna. Hopefully for the Rio Games, the AITA will have learnt their lesson from the 2012 London selection fiasco and will let Mirza decide who she should partner. After all, chemistry and respect are important factors in any doubles partnership. Mirza has certainly earned the right to call the shots when it comes to Indian doubles, even if she has not yet earned the respect she so very much deserves for her doubles game.