Sania’s dad finds fault with tennis skirts - Call for indian dress code

Papa Mirza has a problem — with shooting star Sania’s short skirts and shorter
shorts

Imran is not too happy that pictures of his pretty 18-year-old in all manner of poses and clothes are being splashed all over the front and back pages of newspapers.

Not that the newspapers can be blamed, though. Indian tennis’s latest sensation turns out in the most stunning of outfits: at the Dubai Open quarters earlier this month, she sported tight black shorts and a skin-hugging flaming red tank top, with a matching red visor.

Again at the Hyderabad Open in February, the colours were in place but the combination was reversed: tight black tanktop, red skirt and matching red visor.

But while watching the Hyderabad Open, Imran said, he was shocked his daughter could arouse such madness.

So, the whip has fallen on the tennis dress code: Papa Mirza now wants players’ clothes on court to be cut according to his modest code.

“I wish the dress code for tennis players is made to conform more to the Indian cultural ethos. I wish something is done by the Women’s Tennis Association,” Imran said today.

He claimed many friends — Muslims, Hindus and Christians — had told him the dress code was a “deterrent” preventing them from letting their daughters play tennis.

“I have studied the tennis rule books. It does not say anything about wearing mini skirts and skin-tight tops,” he said, unwittingly touching on the years-old debate on why women tennis players wear skirts and not shorts.

Why the women, and Sania herself, choose to wear skirts is anybody’s guess. Nowhere in the WTA rules are skirts mentioned: they forbid sweatshirts, sweat pants, T-shirts, jeans and cut-offs but do not touch on skirts.

“I need to talk to Sania on the subject first,” Imran said. “I have found that many players wear full sleeves and bigger skirts. Slovak Daniela Hantuchova is an example.”

Sania was not available for comment today. But in a recent interview to a television channel, she had said: “Maybe the dresses I wear are not exactly right, but I guess Islam does have forgiveness. I don’t know if I am doing anything wrong… I am sure God will forgive me.”