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For long, women’s tennis in India has been associated only with Sania Mirza. Now a similar name is all set to challenge Sania’s monopoly. Sanaa Bhambri, 21, is an upcoming player hailing from Delhi. Since taking to tennis in 1995 when she was barely a teenager, the lass has travelled a long way, traversing a rough and bumpy road and leaving a trail to be followed by future tennis players.
She had paired Sania Mirza in 2003 at the junior French Open and was a semi-finalist. But where has she lost out to Sania and why? Lack of sponsorship and proper backing and poor training, according to some.
But Sanaa has her own success stories to cherish. At present, she is 3rd among women in India and her international ranking is around 500 in singles and 450 in doubles. Her rise has been gradual, but steady. She held the top slot in the U-18 category in December 2006. She got a call from the national selectors in 1999. Soon she became a member of the U-14 national squad. In December 2000, she won the ATF Cup Junior Championship (U-14) held in Delhi. In the year 2001, she got a chance to represent India in the South Asia circuit held in Colombo and won gold in the singles and silver in the doubles. Continuing her winning spree the same year, she bagged bronze in singles and gold in doubles at the South East Asian Circuit held at Kuala Lumpur and represented India in the World Youth Cup Championship.
In September 2001, she won the ITF Junior (U-18) held at Mumbai. In November, she won AITA Tennis Tournament in both the categories – Under-14 and Under-16, held at Delhi. In the DSCL Open, she won both singles and doubles in the Under 16 category. In December, she was the lone girl from India to reach the semi finals of the Asian Junior Tennis Championship held in New Delhi. In 2002, she was a semifinalist at the ITF Junior Under 18 held tournament at Kolkata and represented India in the Asia Oceania World Youth Junior Tennis Tournament held at Jakarta, where she won a bronze. In October 2004, at 16, she became the youngest girl in the history of the country to win all three sections – Under 18, singles and doubles – of the DSCL Women’s Nationals held at Delhi. In the years 2005 and 2006, she won all the major domestic tournaments she took part in, including the ITF Women’s tournament held in Ahmedabad. It’s no surprise that her alma mater Delhi University won the All India Inter-university tournament for the first time in the year 2007.
Sanaa is equally good at studies. Since her school days at DPS and right through to college, she has been amongst the toppers in her class. Currently pursuing BA (prog) in French and Philosophy, Sanaa loves listening to music. Besides this, she is a voracious fiction reader. But with Ankita and Yuki Bhambri for siblings, she is never too far from tennis. Her only ambition is to be in the top 100 in world tennis within the next two years. And the best thing is – she knows what it takes to live one’s dreams. She practices five hours a day to turn her dreams into a reality. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Sanaa spoke with correspondent Debashish.
Q: What is the mantra of your success?
Sanaa: Dedication, time management and enjoying what I do.
Q: What are your strengths and which is your favourite shot?
Sanaa: Court coverage, anticipation are my strengths; my favorite shot is the backhand down the line.
Q: Would you be stepping into doubles full-time or will you be concentrating on singles?
Sanaa: I enjoy whatever I am playing whether it’s singles or doubles. They are both fun.
Q: Who are your idols and inspirations?
Sanaa: Roger Federer and Martina Hingis.
Q: How big a role has your family played in your career?
Sanaa: My family has been a big support; I am who I am thanks to my parents’ upbringing, support and the faith they instilled in me.
Q: Where do you plan to see yourself after 5 years?
Sanaa: I don’t plan ahead; I just focus on one event at a time.
Q: Is power tennis (or the dominance of baseline game) taking away the grace from this beautiful game?
Sanaa: The game has definitely become more powerful but more glamorous as well, and baseline tennis has its own charm.
Q: Why do you think we are we still lagging behind as a nation in tennis? Do you think we lack professionalism? Do we need better coaching infrastructure?
Sanaa: We need coaches and support staff who have experience of producing top class professionals.
