Opinion Sania not No.1,but way above
But an inadvertent result of Mirza focussing on doubles in which she picked a couple of Grand Slam wins was her plummetting singles rankings.
First there were Isha Lakhani,Ankita and Sanaa Bhambri & Co who pulled on the No 2 bridesmaids dresses,smiling stiffly,staking claims with muttered breaths,walking a respectful distance behind Sania Mirza,yet always dreaming of catching up with her some far-off day. Then even the pretenders stopped pretending.
Mirzas singles career too drifted beyond recognition from her Top 30 heyday with injuries first claiming the dodgy knee and ankle then snapping the wrist which punctured her big booming game.
But an inadvertent result of Mirza focussing on doubles in which she picked a couple of Grand Slam wins was her plummetting singles rankings. On her downslide more because she hardly turns out for singles these days,Mirza happened to meet and be surpassed by little-known Mumbai girl Kyra Shroff this week who in the course of her own battle with rankings from the backwaters of tennis moved up a few places to earn herself a No 1 ranked Indian tag without really making any waves. Yet,at 473,the 21-year-old finds herself as Indias top-ranked singles player,a happy jot-down for some glum future day.
This insignificant leapfrogging by Kyra,who despite playing only a few tournaments in the last few months and without a sizeable scalp of a marquee player,helped her overtake the biggest name in Indian womens tennis. This came after 10 years of Mirzas perch as a sometimes-impressive,most-times incidental Indian No 1 after the injuries started piling up.
Its also the story of Mirzas legacy wasted woefully by a country which in 2005 was proclaiming that the Hyderabadis emergence would lead to many more Sanias being unearthed,groomed and unleashed on the world.
While Mirza could be said to have harnessed her talent as much as her limited body allowed,India never possessed the right coaches to shepherd youngsters into her orbit nor could it zero down on one successor who would carry Mirzas baton forward. The right mix of parents dedicated to their charges career,the early breaks and travelling to tournaments,the critical coaching-team decisions and financial wherewithal were never found,in one girl.
The likes of Rishika Sunkara,Ankita Raina,Rutuja Bhosale and Prerna Bhambri might well supercede Kyra Shroff during the upcoming swing of tournaments – and it will barely register. The irony of this situation is that should she set her mind to it,Sania Mirza could yet reclaim her top-ranked status any day she chooses,such is the dearth of even bridesmaids in Indian tennis right now.
(Shivani is a special correspondent based in Mumbai) shivani.naik@expressindia.com
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