Incheon: Top tennis ace Sania Mirza has called on the younger lot of women players to think big in an attempt to secure the future of Indian tennis.
Fresh after her fourth Asian Games in a row and ready to dash off to Beijing to team up with her doubles partner Cara Black for this week’s China Open, Sania exhorted her younger teammates to aspire for lofty goals in their career. She also assured them that she will be around to guide them, if they wish.
After much haggling, India fielded an under-par side consisting of Prarthana Thombare — with whom Sania won the women’s doubles bronze — Ankita Raina, Natasha Palha and Rishika Sunkara at the 2014 Asian Games. Sania signed off in style with a second medal, a gold in the company of big-serving Saketh Myneni on Monday night.
“There are a few reasons why the women have not been successful in tennis and proper planning is one of them. Maybe this is due to a lack of knowledge or perhaps even a lack of proper coaching at a higher level,” Sania told Gulf News.
“There is also a lack of a vision where the girls think or expect things to be a bit easier than what they actually are to be in the top-100 in the world. But let me say that it is extremely difficult to be there as today’s tennis is way too competitive. So there are a bunch of things that need to be worked out really if a tennis player needs to be at the top,” she added.
The past one week saw the younger women’s players seeking her out for advice. “Yes, I tried to help them with scheduling by telling them which tournaments to play. They need to come out of the $25,000 (Dh91,750) tournament zone. They need to believe they can do better in the bigger tournaments and that’s one of the main things for them at this stage. They can’t play $25,000 for the rest of their lives because if they do that, then at best they will remain in the top-300. And that is what is happening right now. They go for the easier option a lot of the times, not because they want to but because of a lack of guidance at a certain level,” Sania observed.
The 27-year-old, whose best on the WTA Women’s Tour was No.23 in the singles and No.7 in the doubles, stressed that she is always around to lend a helping hand. “I’m always there to help if they ever ask me. I have a good rapport with these girls. They are very young. They are all my sister’s age. They are like babies to me and I would willingly guide them,” she offered.
She blamed the absence of good coaches at the higher level was hurting the growth of the women’s game. “We need coaches who have what it takes to produce players at the highest level. We do have coaches who are good for the lower and junior levels, but we also need coaches who will be there at the higher level. I think one of the biggest drawbacks that we have is girls are so young and they are trying to follow their coaches. But after some time all coaches don’t know what is happening in the world of tennis. I am sure there are some who do and they can help these girls go the distance,” Sania added.
