Early Life and Tennis Career
Sania was born to Imran Mirza, a sports journalist, and his wife Naseema in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She and younger sister Anam were brought up in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh in a religious family. Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She was trained by her father. She attended NASR school in Hyderabad and later graduated from St. Mary's College.
Mirza received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the MGR Educational and Research Institute University in Chennai on 11 December 2008. Her niece, Sonia Baig Mirza, studies there.
Mirza is the third Indian woman in the Open Era to feature and win a round at a Grand Slam tournament (the first one being Nirupama Vaidyanathan at the 1998 Australian Open and the second being Shikha Uberoi at the 2004 US Open). She also became the 1st Indian woman to be seeded in a Grand Slam event at the 2006 Australian Open.
Read more about this topic: Sania Mirza
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