At 16, Sania Mirza is sharp, focused and goal-oriented. Meet the new princess on the international tennis circuit

The tennis racket swings in her hands as she speaks. She’s wearing her sports kit but... is that glitter you spy on her eyes? A bashful grin follows and you discover she’s come to the courts straight from a family function.

What makes her hot: The first Indian girl to win a title at Wimbledon.

Track record: The first Indian girl to take the Asian junior crown. Won several Asian titles, with about 10 Federation singles titles, and doubles. Is all set to play the US Open and later, the Federation Cup.

Most kicked with: The Fiat Palio she’s been gifted, signed by none other than Sachin Tendulkar! But she’s not allowed to drive yet. Wait, that’s not all. Received Rs 10 lakh and a plot of land from Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, a cash amount from the sponsors, free cell phone usage up to Rs 20,000 per month for one year by Airtel, and a foreign training arranged by the Sports Authority of India. Yes, yes, all that!

Elan: Just has it. She handles media gracefully and is not one bit perturbed. Packs in quite a punch.

Style and clothes: Mostly uninhibited but also likes the girlie stuff, like dressing up and wearing pretty jewellery.

The differentiator: Is calm and down to earth. In the last few weeks, there’s been more footage and newsprint on Sania than Vajpayee and Naidu put together, but she has her eye firmly on the ball.

Strengths: Her groundstrokes and her perfect sense of timing.

Weakness: A tad weak serve.

She says: “Tennis is my world. I can’t imagine a life without it. When I step on the courts to represent India, it’s a great feeling. “I have no time for dates and discos — not at the moment, at least.

Well, we hope Sania takes on the Williams sisters some day and wins too! Till then, there’s more tennis. Oh, and a family holiday to the US that she’s really looking forward to.
Quite an ace, this one, don’t you think?

Sania Mirza spoke to Namita A Shrivastava

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