Celebrating Sania Mirza: A warrior on and off the court

It wouldn't be wrong to say that before the likes of Mary Kom, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, it was Sania Mirza who was the flag bearer of women's sports in the 21st century.

Though loss greeted one of India's brightest stars in the final game of her career in Dubai, it's Sania's journey that defines a woman with nerves of steel.

The Tennis ace has 6 doubles titles. But these trophies don't define her entirely.

It hasn't been a cakewalk career for Sania. She didn't have to just battle it out on the court but off it as well. From being criticised for her playing outfits to being questioned for marrying Shoaib Malik across the border, Sania had to deal with it all but boy she broke stereotypes in some style.

Also Read 'Really grateful for the career' - Sania Mirza bids adieu to tennis

Sania earlier spoke about women's sports and said that she hopes parents encourage their young girls to take sport as a career. 'It's not just, Oh, my God, what are you doing going and playing like boys sort of situation. You can actually say you're playing like a girl,' she added.

With almost 11 million followers on Instagram Sania is not just a tennis star but has a big influence on social media as well. To put things in perspective, tennis sensation and world's highest-paid women athlete Naomi Osaka has 2.7 million.

Sania may be a beast in doubles tennis but the Indian great had at this year's Australian Open revealed that the most special moment of her career was actually a singles match back in 2005 when she came up against Serena Williams, a 3rd-round Australian Open match.

Even as Sania missed out on the fairytale end to her career, she walked away from the sport as a trailblazer who redefined women's sports in the nation. A true trendsetter, there are many who now dream of walking the same path as her. The legacy will live on forever!