No. 43 is special for Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza showed her continued passion for tennis when she won the Czech Republic WTA Tour 500 doubles title with Zhang Shuai.

“[Shuai and I] have always wanted to play together, but it never really fell in place. Either she was unavailable, or I was. We played together in Luxembourg last week and played really well together,” she said. “We lost against the pair who went on to win the title, but we played a very good match,” she added.

The six-time Grand Slam winner follows a strict training regimen does even when she is in her hometown.

Her determination as she trains with the likes of Davis Cuppers Saketh Myneni, J. Vishnuvardhan and a couple of young talent before major events is something every tennis player would want.

And, invariably, the 34-year-old defies age, rarely says enough of the training for she always displays that childish enthusiasm to keep knocking the ball around for hours.

“Though this is my 43rd career doubles title win, it is the first WTA 500 title that I have won after becoming a mother!” she.

“My son who has been away from me for the last two weeks, said to me this morning, ‘Mama, come back with a trophy’. And I’m happy I could win this for him!” she said.

“It is a great feeling to come back and win titles, especially after having a kid. I started feeling better as the week progressed, and I felt I got back into my rhythm,” Sania said.

Sania’s father and coach Imran Mirza feels that his daughter had shown remarkable grit and discipline while working on her fitness and her game, and is in no mood to pack her bags anytime soon.

“I think she is close to playing her best tennis again and gradually working her way back to the top echelons of the sport, which is where she belongs,” he said.