Raising a racquet : Much ado about nothing?

 

 

She represents Indian tennis’ hope, but she also portrays the hype. And much as she creates a buzz, one is tempted to argue that we might be backing the wrong horse, at least in the long run. In a nation starved of non-cricketing sporting heroes, Sania Mirza’s meteoric rise as the poster girl of Indian tennis is explicable but her inability to repay the (misplaced?) faith of her countrymen is baffling. After breaking through on the world scene in the 2005 Australian Open, where she created history by becoming the first Indian woman to reach the third round, and later the fourth round of the US Open in the same year, a lot was expected of the Hyderabadi teen sensation. But Sania has failed to deliver even on the most basic set of expectations from the Indian fan and is fearfully close to burning out, reducing the dream to ashes.

Coached by her father, the world took notice of this spunky and sparkling teenager as her smashing forehands on court made as much news as her attitude and T-Shirt slogans off it. She won the ‘Best Newcomer Award’ for 2005 from the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) – and even made it to the cover of Time’s South Asia edition – but as soon as the surprise element wore off, concerns and downright scepticism dominated the assessment of Mirza’s career prospects in the cut throat WTA tour. Her service was pointed out as the biggest weakness (a shaky serve and a very poor first service percentage) and her tendency to blow away leads and breaks coupled with a marked lack of stamina became another limitation. In short, her game came up woefully short of what was required for sustained success in the international arena. She only has one title to her credit (Hyderabad Open 2005), that too a Tier IV WTA event, which is slim pickings indeed for a player marked out initially for greater things. A career high of 31 in October 2005 raised hopes of a break into the top 20 but it proved a bridge too far as she slipped outside the Top 50 in less than six months. Indifferent form, injuries blamed on incorrect technique plagued her nascent career and threatened to smother the blue-eyed girl of Indian tennis. Her achievements (towering ones considering the relative impact Indian women have had on world tennis) made big news and soon enough she represented everything ‘New India’ stood for – ambition and an in-your-face attitude. Everyone had a field day discussing her faith, fashion, endorsement deals and the length of her skirts but the nation conveniently forgot that it all ought to follow on-court encores where consistent success is about a lethal serve, cross court winners and the grit and ability to grind opponents into clay-court dust. Her personal life was put under the scanner but her game was never dissected.

In 2006, a year she was worst hit by injuries, she could do very little in terms of adding dimensions to her game. Granted, she managed success including the singles silver medal and the mixed doubles gold medal (with Leander Paes) at the Doha Asian Games, but then calling doubles the ‘real deal’ in tennis is like comparing test cricket with Twenty20. To be fair, even Martina Navratilova on the wrong side of 40 still remains competitive in doubles events. Mirza’s chances of making it in a singles Grand Slam event, or the more competitive titles on tour, look extremely slim if not completely non-existent based on current form and fitness. Former Indian Davis Cup captain Jaidip Mukerjea concurs, “She has the fire power but she has to get physically fitter to win the game. As of now, I don’t see her going past the quarter finals. Though she is mentally very tough but has to put in a lot in the fitness bit to reach there.” In fact, Sania herself once confessed in an interview that it may be beyond her to ever win a grand slam tournament.

In a world dominated by big serving, super-fit amazons, Sania’s only chance is to add more to her arsenal – the immediate requirement being a booming serve. She has the enthusiasm and the longing and those are necessary, but unfortunately not sufficient conditions for lasting success. Till then, her only lasting legacy might remain that she broke a few taboos in the domain of Indian sport.