The girl who fought for the right things

Sania Mirza wants to be remembered as the girl who fought for the right things.

Like the cap she wore after finishing her Grand Slam career at the Australian Open as a 36-year-old — ‘You can’t handle the truth‘ — or the T-shirts she made famous as a teenager — ‘You can either agree with me or be wrong‘ — her answers usually have a short but straight-shot message.

Sania Mirza is a fighter. Not just on court, where she’s a seasoned competitor down to her final Grand Slam. But also off it.

“When an Indian woman athlete achieves something, they are not only fighting on court or on the field, they are also fighting their odds off the field because of the kind of high-pressure, societal mindset,” she tells ESPN in a candid chat ahead of the final tournament of her storied career.

There are certain universally acknowledged truths about being an Indian woman in sport: Casual sexism and pointed questions, ranging from your choice of clothing to that of unconventional career.

For Sania these barriers were amplified, not just due to her gender but also her religion and then her marriage to a top Pakistani cricketer. She faced an evolved version of the garden variety sexism most Indian (sports)women face.

And she fought it with a spunk that redefined what it meant to be a modern Indian sportswoman. An Indian woman even, as so many girls grew up watching her hold her own with a racquet, and with words, in a way no Indian athlete had before.

Fighting for the right things. While being forthright. Winning consistently. Is this her biggest legacy as she heads into retirement?

“A lot of people ask this question, and I find it strange because do you really think about yourself as a legacy?”

A classic Sania Mirza remark. The embodiment of the oxymoronic eloquent quip. You’ve heard these for years. Sania has always been one of India’s most well-spoken and witty athletes, as well as being an Indian tennis GOAT.

“If I do think about how I want people to remember what I did or who I was, I would say definitely the things that I’ve achieved yes; I was World No 1 and India was number one in the world for two years.”

“But I would like people to remember that this girl fought for the right things. She believed in herself when nobody else did. No matter how many odds were against you, she didn’t think that those odds were enough, she always thought that you can…