How Indian tennis player Sania Mirza is paving the way for females in the sport

When Sania Mirza walks into a room now she no longer carries a racquet She carries a vision She might be done playing matches But she is not done fightingIn a wideranging conversation with Sunday midday the former World No 1 in doubles speaks like a retired athlete who has unfinished business with the sport she grew up loving If her playing career was about surviving the system her newest move The Next Set is about confronting it headonldquoTwentyfive years ago sport especially for young girls was not really a path that everybody chose There was nobody to follow nobody to lead you through itrdquo she says matteroffactlyldquoIrsquom just trying to help girls achieve the best of their potential using whatever experience and resources I haverdquoIt sounds simple But the fallacy is that it isnrsquot With The Next Set her new initiative to support Indian women tennis playersMirza is filling the gaps she knows too well from the fragile juniortopro transition the isolation of the tour the absence of structured supportAnd it begins with an experience that is hard to get past At 16 Mirza had faith She had family backing her What she did not have was a roadmap And the struggle she says was constant She says ldquoThere was literally no way of knowing what to do next I knew that if I ever got the chance I would attempt to help the next generationrdquoSania Mirza in action during her doubles match with Johanna Konta not pictured against Francesca Schiavone and Roberta Vinci during the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon PICGETTY IMAGESIndian tennis produces promise It does not always produce longevity And Mirza refuses to simplify the problem ldquoI wish there were some secret where we could pinpoint and say lsquoThis is the problemrsquo Itrsquos a mix of funding coaching and infrastructure A lot has changed and improved over the last three decades but we still have a long way to go for us to compete at the highest level Itrsquos also about knowing how to do it when to do it where to do it the kind of work that needs to go in mdash playing the right tournaments getting the right coaching Therersquos no one reason holding us backrdquoAnd the one phase she says is especially unforgiving and needs immediate attention is ldquoI think the transition from junior to pro is where a lot of youngsters lose their way or fail for multiple different reasons More than frustration itrsquos about helping them get through that phaserdquoMirza has seen what global preparation looks like She knows what Indian players are up against ldquoIt is extremely important because yoursquore competing against players whorsquove had full support staff and full teams from the ages of eight or ten Gone are the days when you could just travel by yourself thatrsquos maybe where we lag behind Wersquore trying to provide that support staff and team to take away some of the worries Obviously it costs a lot of money Itrsquos not easy to afford travelling with an entire team mdash a physiotherapist trainer coach We have a nutritionist on board travelling with them and available onlineThatrsquos definitely a step in the right directionrdquoThis is the heart of The Next Set professionalising survival ldquoTennis is a brutally isolating sport You lose alone you win alone You spend so much time away from your family mdash travelling 30 weeks a year living out of a suitcase You go through huge emotional swings for so many weeks With the experience Irsquove had and these girls are experiencing it too we can help them cope with those psychological and mentally tough days Wersquore trying to create a system and a team where everybody feels theyrsquore part of one unitrdquoThere is another opponent in India selfdoubt which is a personal battle to fight for every female athlete ldquoYes parents do worry But times have changed and itrsquos not the same anymore Wersquove had women sports superstars come out of India whorsquove shown us that sport can be a career choice That worry exists for both girls and boys What wersquore trying to do is create a system where players only need to worry about playing parents worry about supporting their children and we worry about everything else that comes with itrdquoIf the structure exists fear reduces If fear reduces more girls stay the course At the moment she points out bluntly India has no regular womenrsquos presence at Grand Slams ldquoMy immediate goal is that we get consistent representation in singles or doublesrdquoFor now the initiative has begun with players already at the top of the domestic pyramid ldquoThe Next Set has started with the top players in the country who need that support we can give them a push to hopefully play Grand Slams and compete at the highest level But the plan is to go younger to spot talent and support them for a longer period of timerdquoThere is a different kind of stamina required for a fullfledged entrepreneurial shift Mirza says she is prepped ldquoI run a couple of other sportbased businesses and thankfully I have a really good team Theyrsquore on point with everything so I donrsquot get into complete micromanagement Irsquom more handson when it comes to talking with the girls and helping them personally with their game The admin is handled by my team Of course I supervise Everything is a challenge I wonrsquot lie Wersquore trying to do something thatrsquos never been done beforerdquoFirst step Then the next Ultimately what does success look like ldquoItrsquos about broader access and creating top players Itrsquos about creating champions and giving young athletes a level playing field to be the best version of themselves against the best in the world Once you create a system like this more young girls and their parents wonrsquot be scared about cost or logistics Theyrsquoll know therersquos somewhere to go and someone willing to helprdquoThe former World No1 is no longer measuring success in sets won She is measuring it in systems she will build for the next line of stars in the game And this time she is not waiting for anyone to show the way She says she owes it to her 16yearold self