Sania inspires a new wave

KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 18: There was one sight today at the Netaji indoor stadium that sums up Indian tennis in general and the mood in Kolkata in particular. Sania Mirza — with her entourage of parents, sister, coach and mentor CGK Bhupathi in toe — dropped in to watch her old pals Ankita Bhambri and Isha Lakhani thrash it out for a place in the main draw.

Within minutes, at least four dozen cameras turned their backs to the match in progress to get Sania in their frame. It’s a one-woman show here and one didn’t need a referendum to prove it. With the chaos on the sidelines refusing to subside, Sania — whose embarrassment seemed more for the players on court than for the overwhelming attention she was getting, finally said, ‘‘The match is behind you, click some pictures there.’’ Her mother sitting a seat away, nudged her and shook her head. Sania didn’t speak after that, but soon moved out.

And later something transpired, that showed how the ripple caused by Sania may turn into a new wave for Indian women’s tennis. As if taking a cue from Sania, the cameras stayed back to click the frame of the smiling local qualifiers — Rushmi and Ankita — who increased the Indian count in the main draw to five.

As an off-shoot to Sania’s 24x7 focus, the much-neglected second-rung players of Indian tennis too are getting their 15-minutes of fame. Rushmi, who at 28 has been a top three national player for the past decade, welcomes the attention but can’t forget days trying to give her best in front of empty stands and non-existent support. ‘‘I have played many national and ITF finals with just my parents and that of the opponents in the stands,’’ she says.

Her mother Shanta, the lone supporter for her daughter at many games, is pleased that she has company in the stands now. ‘‘It is very different now. Tennis had no real support when Rushmi started her career. With no big tournaments in India, it was even expensive to travel abroad all the time,’’ she says.

National Fed Cup coach Enrico Piperno thanks the All India Tennis Association for bringing the big tournaments to India. ‘‘In the late 90s the big tournaments started coming to India so the girls benefited a lot. And after that Sania Mirza happened,’’ he says.

He adds that Indian tennis is no longer about moon-ball lobs, parabola shots and lazy baseline play with a fast-paced attractive game.

‘‘The Williams sisters got the power to world tennis and it has trickled down to rest of the players on the circuit. Suddenly the women’s game has become the in-thing,’’ he says.

So much so that Piperno has no problems in saying that the biggest ATP men’s tennis event in India — the Chennai Open — too can’t match-up with the popularity the WTA event. ‘‘One needs a local successful singles player for a tournament to succeed. Sania has done it for women. Lee and Hesh did for some time. But it is tough to sustain interest as the international body is not too keen on doubles,’’ he says.

The event promoter CGK Bhupathi — and Mahesh’s father, too agrees. ‘‘When Mahesh and Leander played together the response was phenomenal. After they split the response was less than phenomenal,’’ he confides.

Bhupathi said that the big bang for women’s tennis was seen at the Hyderabad Open last year. Things at Kolkata look no different. Despite the fact that the stadium has a capacity of 9,000, the organisers have been forced to open an extra ticket window.

The tickets for Sania games in Kolkata can’t just win friends but also influence people. Like the camera men today, it is worthwhile to stay back after Sania’s match.