CHENNAI: A week after returning to the WTA Tour post an injury and a maternity break, Sania Mirza reminded the tennis world of her prowess.
Partnering Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenok, the 33-year-old won the Hobart International in January. Fast forward four months and she, like scores of other athletes across the world, is experiencing uncertainty because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hyderabadi talks about what life has been under lockdown, her work with Youth Feed India and her thoughts on Tennis United, a collaboration between the ATP and WTA.
Excerpts...
How are you keeping yourself fit?
Luckily, I have some open space in my house. I workout for a couple of hours every day. My 17-month-old (Izhaan) keeps me active. I'm just trying to be fit and healthy, as that's really good for your immunity.
In an Instagram post in March, you spoke about the work you were doing with Youth Feed India...
Youth Feed India with Safa Society was started by a few friends. That's how I got to know about it. When I did, I donated. I felt comfortable being associated with it because it was people I knew. I knew it would go to the right places for the right reasons. As an individual, you can only do so much. But as a group, there's so much more you can do.
There are so many hungry people out there. I'm so glad that we have raised Rs 2.5 crore in three weeks. It (raising funds to feed the most affected) started on March 21, so we are really happy. But this isn't the end. The fight is still on. There are a lot of hungry people. We have been able to provide lakhs of meals, but the more the better. Nothing is enough in today's circumstances. That was my way of trying to give back.
Also, I feel we are in such privileged positions, sitting in the comfort of our houses and having food to eat. Daily-wage workers are the people who don't have food to eat. They have stomachs to feed, they have kids, and it's just so tough to see it. I'm just glad we have all been able to make Youth Feed India reach where it is as an initiative. But we still have to keep going. I obviously appeal to people to keep donating. We really do not want any more hungry people in the country. That's the least that we can do.
You would have had an elaborate plan to get back into the grind. This break obviously changes that. How have you adapted?
It's been tough because I worked really, really hard to get back into shape for playing at a really high level. Then this happened. But tennis seems really irrelevant in these circumstances. It's important that we all come out healthy on the other side. You just have to adapt. At the end of the day, we all have to try and stay healthy. Hopefully, I still have it in me to come back again.
This break has meant more time with Izhaan...
That's the good part. He's so used to seeing me at home, it's going to be difficult when I start going for practice. That takes four, five hours of my day.
But yeah, I work out whenever I get time. I also watch Netflix. It's usually late at night because there is no alarm in the morning. Luckily, Izhaan too wakes up late.
Some athletes have complained of a lack of motivation because of a sudden lack of goals. How are you staying positive?
Sure, there is a little lacking. It is more to do with the uncertainty of everything, at least for me. Not knowing and just training for something while not knowing when you are actually going to put it to use is pretty tough. Having said that, it's important to keep yourself fit and healthy. Because when you do come back to actual matches, that'll be important. Then, it's just a question of getting your game back in place.
The ATP and WTA seem to have joined hands for Tennis United (athletes from the two tours will come together every Friday to talk fun and games, and the videos will be released on ATP's and WTA's digital platforms). Have you been invited?
It just shows that it doesn't matter if you are two separate federations. As a tennis community, we have all come together to help. Do whatever we can to stay positive, and hopefully help each other through these difficult times. It's an amazing feature, and it will be a lot of fun in these dark times. It will be good to have some chats and see the other side of tennis, men's and women's. I have not been approached yet, but we will see. I'm really excited about it.