Initially, her father coached her before she took tennis seriously. Her father Imran Mirza, started as a sports journalist and then went into printing business before becoming a builder. Sania's mother, Naseema, runs the printing business now. Sania also has a little sister Anam. During the initial stage of her career, Imran, who was not overtly wealthy, found it hard to pay for Sania's expensive training and gear. Luckily they found a sponsor in G V K Reddy, chairman of G V K Group, when Sania was 13. That was crucial turning point in her career.
Sania won the Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles title in 2003 (partnering with Alisa Kleybanova ). She got a wild card entry to the 2005 Australian Open and created history by becoming the first Indian woman to enter the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. She lost in the 3rd round to eventual champion Serena Williams, but not before creating some buzz in the online betting world. In the same year she became the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the Hyderabad Open Finals.
She then went on to win the WTA 'Newcomer of the Year' Award for the year 2005. She won the award over her performance during the year when she rose to a career best ranking of 31 after being ranked 163 at the start of the year. She is ranked 37th in the latest WTA rankings. Sania has 516.75 singles ranking points.
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