Sania Mirza became the first Indian woman to hold the No. 1 ranking on Monday, after she and partner Martina Hingis continued their doubles dominance by defeating Daria Jurak and Casey Dellacqua 6-0, 6-4 to win the Family Circle Cup. It is the team’s third straight title after deciding to pair up at Indian Wells in March.
Outspoken from a young age, Mirza has never shied away from criticizing India’s misogynistic institutions. As she sought to pursue tennis in a culture that did not value women in sports, she and her family endured an onslaught of criticism.
“It was those kind of remarks from that side of the world where women, obviously sports is not something that’s the first thing they go to,” Mirza said. “To come through all that after all these years, and I mean for my family, the sacrifices we put in.”
“We all have a story. Every tennis player out there has an amazing story. And it all just seems worth it today. And no one can take it away from me. I’m going to be the No. 1 in the world. Even 50 years from now I’ll go down as the former world No. 1, and that’s something that’s very, very special.”
