‘They Started Talking About What I Wore...’, Sania Mirza Opens Up On Various Controversies During Tennis Days

Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza has won many Grand Slams and colleced several trophies. But her playing career also saw many controversies. The Hyderabad-born tennis player was once mocked for wearing short clothes on the tennis court. The fact that she did it without giving caring about anyone or anything made her haters even more rattled. Sania continued to play despite all the hurdles. Not to forget, a Fatwa was issued in name of Sania in 2005 as a group of muslim clerics wanted her to cover her up properly while playing tennis.

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Sania’s dress code was also written extensively by media, something which she did not like. Not to forget, with internet’s onset, she has also been a regular receiver of hate on Twitter, getting trolled for wearing something, being fat or marrying a cricketer from Pakistan. Sania, in a conversation with JioCinema, opened up on her love-and-hate relationship with the media and how she dealt with her haters. 

"I think that a lot of it was also media created because it got boring to talk about one same girl, every day playing forehands and backhands, so how much will they want to talk about it. So, it got boring and they wanted to make it spicy and a lot of my issues that happened with me in my early years were a lot media created, unfortunately. And that is just the way it was. And I was never nervous. And that is because I had my parents. I knew no matter what, they had my back. And I think that is where my parents came where they had this solid grounding for me where I believed, regardless of anything that happens in my life, this core that I have will never go in the form of my friends and family and stuff. So, I was never scared to do anything because I always knew they had my back," Sania said. 

To all the champion Mums out there, this is for you _

Happy Mother's Day from the AO _ @MirzaSania pic.twitter.com/hcj6rOdWg8 — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) May 14, 2023

Sania also blasted media for writing more on the size of her clothes and than her tennis skill. She, however, added that most of the journalists she met were kind towards her and her tennis. 

“I think media is not trolling, media is being media. I've had a love hate relationship with media. Lately, it's been more love than hate. Before it used to be more hate than love. But, in the process of that, I have made some really good friends in the media as well, what happened was I think that initially when I came, everybody was taken by surprise because there was no other woman athlete that was a star. And so it was a fun ride for both of us. I think they were learning. I was bouncing off them. They were bouncing off me. It got boring at some point to talk only about forehand and backhand. So, they started talking about what I wore, who I had and didn't have dinner with, why did I have dinner. So, I guess they needed to sell their newspapers and I needed to protect my sanity. But over time, we've begun to like each other more and we have a great relationship now,” Sania said.