The queen of Indian tennis

When a six-year-old Mirza expressed her interest in playing tennis, her local club coach refused her, saying she was smaller than the racket. Her mother fought for her though, and got her in. “After a month, he called my parents and said, ‘You have to watch her play as I’ve never seen a six-year-old play like this,’” she recalled to The Indian Express.

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Since then, she has gone on to put Indian women’s tennis on the global map. She was the first Indian to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles title – in Hyderabad in 2005 – and the first to win a grand slam title in any format.

After injuries in 2007, she focused on doubles and went on to win six slams (three in doubles and three in mixed doubles) as well as two WTA finals titles. She won her last title – her 43rd doubles trophy – last September, meaning she has more WTA doubles titles than any other active player on the tour, per 24 News.

A millionaire with a fabulous life

Ranked by the WTA as India’s No 1 tennis player from 2003-2013, Mirza is also the first Indian female tennis player to earn more than US$1 million in prize money. Through the years, that has grown to nearly US$7 million, per SportSkeeda, accounting for more than one-third of her US$25 million net worth.

The millionaire athlete enjoys a luxury mansion in her hometown, Hyderabad, which she bought for around US$1.6 million. She spends holidays at her second home with a private beach on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah Islands.

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As a fan of high-end cars, her collection includes brands such as BMW, Porsche, Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and others.

Brands love her

Speaking to Campaign India, Ramakrishnan R, founder and director of Baseline Ventures, an Indian sports management agency, described Mirza as the “renaissance” for brands looking at athletes outside cricket, saying: “She has not been overexposed by brands, but has given the right kind of exposure through platforms beyond straightforward brand endorsements.”

In a survey by YouGov in August 2021, 45 per cent of urban Indians felt proud of her success in international competitions.

Her strength and charisma has led to her signing deals with global sporting brands like Adidas and Wilson, and local brands such as Air India, Hathway Cable, Tata Tea and TVS Scooty, to name just a few. These lucrative deals have contributed the other two-thirds of her fortune.

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She has a bold style

Whenever Mirza appears on or off the court, onlookers are keen to see what cool slogan or pithy aside she has on her T-shirt. Famous previous examples include: “I’m cute, no sh*t”, “You can either agree with me, or be wrong”, “Sorry, I’m late. I didn’t want to come”, “Dear karma, together we will make a better world”, “Me? Sarcastic? Never” and “Whatever”.

Her nose ring is another signature, although she has previously pointed out that is common in Indian culture for girls to have their noses pierced.

She’s a symbol for modern women

However, as a Muslim, Mirza was criticised for her T-shirts, as well as for the short skirts common on court, when she was 18. In response though, the teen stood strong, continuing wearing her skirts and even sporting a shirt saying, “well-behaved women rarely make history” at her next Wimbledon performance in 2005, per The Better India.

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“I think being a woman celebrity is the hardest thing in India. People will ask many things: what you wear, how you speak, when you will have a baby and other things,” she was quoted as saying by India’s Business Times. “When a woman wants to do something [in] her own way, she is criticised, dubbed as a rebel. Wear this, wear that, why a T-shirt? Everybody has the right to form their opinions and I have the right to ignore them.”