WHEN SANIA Mirza first dawned on the scene, she showed lots of promise in the ladies singles arena of the WTA circuit. She also became the first Indian in the history of WTA tennis to break into the top 30 rankings while she was at her prime. A lot was expected from the young girl from Hyderabad, who was aggressive in her approach. It was her attitude that made the headlines, but she represented the modern India, who were no longer shy of the outer world.

In due course of time, she also began to win some singles trophies in the ITF and the WTA circuit and defeated many good players in the circuit too. Suddenly she became to be feared for her aggressive approach by her opponents. But, she could not be consistent, which led to her downfall. She also represented India in the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, where she brought laurels to the country. After some time, she suffered from various injuries and her form dipped drastically in the singles circuit, so she gradually developed into a doubles player, which she seems to have been doing well at present.

She has been winning many a titles in the doubles competition around the world. But, titles which matter most to any tennis players are the grand slam titles. Till date, Sania Mirza has won as many as 2 mixed doubles title, Australian Open 2009 and French Open 2012. She lost in the finals of the Australian Open mixed doubles 2008. During all these competitions, it was Mahesh Bhupathi who played alongside her. So, it was no surprise when this Indian pair won the title yesterday, French Open mixed doubles. Apart from this, She along with her partner, Elena Vesnina, finished runners up during the French Open 2011 in the women's doubles competition. She also tasted success with Elena in various other WTA tournaments.

It was not all happy days for the Tennis star, as she was also involved in some kind of controversy during her playing days. During her press conferences, she used to wear those t-shirts with witty lines. The dresses, which she wore during the game came under more scrutiny from many religious Muslim groups, but she was not an easy nut to crack. She had also once stated that she would not be participating in India for any Tennis tournaments, bringing her bad repute.

Sania Mirza has always been a fearless Indian, who believes and backs herself. Many may call her an arrogant Indian, but one has to remember that she is the lone Indian who carried the Indian flag on the WTA circuit and she still has been doing the same. It was she, who placed the Indian flag on the WTA circuit.