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Don’t put pressure on Maaya: Sania MIrza
Former Indian tennis star says Maaya Rajeshwaran is very talented and should to be left alone to maintain her focus in tennis
Mumbai: There were plenty of comparisons with Sania Mirza doing the rounds in February. That was when an unheralded teenager, Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, defied all odds to make it to the semi-final of the WTA125 Mumbai Open.
Then 15, unranked Maaya had been handed a wild card into the qualification draw, but slowly pulled-off upset after upset to become the first Indian since Mirza to reach that far at a WTA home event in singles.
The run came a few months after she had first made news of being selected to train at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca. In the months since, she has grown as a player - she is currently the junior world No.59 - and her progression even had 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal himself keep a close eye on her training.
Mirza however, was not keen with the comparisons because of the pressure it could add on Maaya.
“She plays very well and I did watch when she had a great run (in Mumbai). I’ve been through this phase, and I want to tell everyone, don’t put pressure on her,” said former world No.1 and six-time doubles Grand Slam winner Mirza, to reporters on the sidelines of the Tennis Premier League auction in Mumbai.
Mirza, who is brand ambassador of the Gurgaon Grand Slammers for the upcoming TPL season, was a trailblazer for women’s tennis in India, and had reached as high as the world No.27 and had won the WTA event in Hyderabad in 2005.
Twenty years since that achievement, an Indian created waves at a tour event, prompting the comparisons.
“(Maaya’s) not even an adult yet. With these comparisons, I understand the intention is to encourage, but it can put a lot of pressure,” Mirza added.
“I want her to come into her own. People say, ‘she can be as good as Sania.’ No. She can be better than Sania. But if you ask me how good she is, she is very, very good.”
