Sania Mirza:I feel really privileged to be in this position

Former World No. 1 Sania Mirza says she feels privileged to be in a position to share her experiences with the next generation and still feels she has tennis left in her, in an interview to the Fed Cup site. Mirza is part of the Indian Fed Cup team which is playing the Asia Oceania Group I ties in Dubai this week and will play doubles for the team if any of the ties go to the deciding doubles rubber.

Mirza says, “I feel really privileged to be in this position and I feel that anyway, after a certain point, if you’re able to, then you should share your experiences to help that next generation to be able to take that next step. If I’m able to do that and if they feel motivated by that, then that’s great. I truly believe that after being in a certain position in your life, you have a certain responsibility, that you owe it to society or your followers or fans, people who look up to you, or young kids. Of course I want to play tennis, I’m not going to say I’m doing this only to be this person who wants to influence – I do think that I still have tennis left in me, that was the first reason that I came back. And I felt I had tennis left in me where I could still win tournaments and obviously me winning Hobart reiterated what I felt. But then when you have that responsibility, you have so many people that look up to you. Forget playing tennis, just the fact that I lost weight, that was something that inspired so many people. I wake up to 100s of messages every day still saying that, ‘I had a child five years ago and I was 30 kilos overweight and I saw your post and I wasn’t going to go to the gym and I went for a walk’. That’s the stuff that stays with you. I feel if you’re able to make a difference in one person’s life, I think you’re at least doing justice to what God has given you.”

Speaking about the Indian girls Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale in the team, Mirza says, “I do think the team has a decent future. I think we need more girls to come out and play at this level. We do have Ankita who is playing at this level but I do think the other girls are slightly on a lower level than she is. I do believe we do have talent at home – there are a lot more guys coming out and are in the top 100 or top 150 or in doubles, but in the women it is a bit scarce, it’s too long a gap. I mean I turned pro in 2003, we’re in 2020 and we’re still waiting for someone to be in the top 50 in the world. So it is a very big gap. You do need more kids like this who are here and we should have at least 10 more girls waiting in line to get into this team, who are very close to each other. I think it’s a great opportunity if we’re able to qualify but I don’t think we’re the favourites, I think Taipei and China are probably the favourites. But if we’re able to win a singles match, obviously then I come into play and the dynamics change a little bit, but having said that it’s still no guarantee because you’re still playing against people who are really, really good. It comes down to the same thing we always talk about, there’s a lack of system in place [at home] and that system needs to be put in place for us to be able to produce champions on a regular basis, otherwise it’s going to be every 20, 25 years unfortunately.”

Mirza returned to the courts in January after a two year break during which she gave birth to her first child. She won her first tournament back in Hobart but a calf injury has slowed down her progress since then.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3atcKYH