Sania Mirza

“As you grow older, it's harder to stay fit. Every day you wake up with pain, muscle aches which you don't know you had. I have to work harder on me than I used to when I was 18 years old. It takes me longer to recover now.”

“When I go out on court, I don't care what I look like. I don't care if I'm out of my bed as long as I win the match, and that's what I'm there for. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing, it doesn't matter what I look, it doesn't matter what my hair feels like. All I feel is the moment I have to play well, give my 100% and win the match.”

“Negativity sells. I have been labelled a rebel. If I had been one, would I have got married at 23? Would I have been a straight A student?”

“I'm not a perfect Muslim; I think none of us are perfect human beings. I do the five pillars of Islam, you know, I pray five times a day.”

“As a young girl, I used to dream of giving an interview. You dream of stardom as a kid. People think they don't want to be stars. Everyone wants to be a star! That's the truth. Even grownups; they pretend they don't want to be one and don't care. But everyone wants to.”

“Not many people know, but my joints are extremely hypermobile, and that's why I'm more prone to injuries. That's why most of my major injuries were with the joints. I had a career-threatening wrist injury where picking up a fork to feed myself was a problem, and the thought of playing tennis again was so far from my mind.”

“No tennis player is perfect. Even if you're world #1, I don't think, you still have things to improve on, and I'm not even close to that. So I am going to have weaknesses in my game; I am going to have strengths in my game, but I still have time to develop a lot of things, hopefully, and we'll see how it goes.”

“I have a passion for playing tennis and enjoy the workload and struggles of performing in this amazing global sport.”

“I used to go swimming and passed the tennis courts every day, and that's how it started. My mum said, 'Why don't you play tennis in your summer holidays because you have nothing to do except swim for an hour or whatever?,' and that's how I started playing.”

“Tennis players are very fortunate that unlike some disciplines of sport, in mega-sporting events like the Grand Slams, they have a huge platform to showcase their talents on the world stage once every few months.”

“We players are as normal human beings as anyone else, and we also have the right to live a normal life. I don't understand why people talk so much about the way we dress up, how we walk, what we eat, and every little detail of ours. Players are the real heroes. Sports have both respect and fame, and I am fortunate enough to be a sportsperson.”

“Everyone dreams of playing Wimbledon and winning it. I am glad this dream came true for me so fast in my career. It feels great after so many years of struggle.”

“I think people tend to forget that as celebrities we are still human. We have the same emotions - we cry, we have fun, we laugh, we get sad, and we get hurt. When something is written about you, which millions of people are reading, and it is not true, imagine how hurtful it can be.”

“I love any kind of food. I don't have a sweet tooth, but I love haleem.”

“As long as I am winning, people shouldn't care whether my skirt is six inches long or six feet long. How I dress is a very personal thing. It is scary that every time I wear a T-shirt, it becomes a talking point for the next three days.”

“I have always believed that my job is to try and give my best on the tennis courts.”

“I love salon days to pamper myself, do my nails.”

“I will play with anyone for my country. I may have my personal preferences, but such preferences have never come in the way of playing for India.”

“Tennis is like, it gives you a lot of chances, but if you don't take those chances, it takes a lot of chances away from you. It's just the scoring pattern. We cannot dwell over a loss or a win for very long. We have no time to celebrate; we have no time to dwell; we have to move on. Wake up the next day and try and win the match.”

“I don't think I'm old enough or experienced enough to give anyone any guidance. All I would like say is that as long as you're having fun, I think you're doing the right thing.”