Sania mania hits WTA officials

KOLKATA: The WTA is watching Sania Mirza and you have none other than the premier tennis body’s supervisor Giulio Orlandi saying that. "Sania’s stature in the tennis world is growing," the Italian official told ToI. "During the US Open in New York, I was doing the scheduling and had to put her on Arthur Ashe Court keeping in mind her popularity."

Fans came in large numbers to watch Sania’s matches. "Of course, the crowd mostly comprised of people from the Indian community living in New York, yet in general, her popularity was amazing. She was drawing the crowd to the stadium and we had to acknowledge that." Sania reached the fourth round of the US Open, the first Indian girl to do so, before losing to Russian Maria Sharapova. "Her success is good for tennis." Orlandi is aware that success can sometimes become a disadvantage with the player losing focus.However, the official is certain that Sania’s support staff will not allow that to happen. "She has a good organisation backing her and a good manager. "The people around her are taking care of her.When you start tasting success, the idea is not to get overwhelmed.

I am sure she will be wary of that." Clearly, to shield her from excess attention, the WTA had stepped in to regulate Sania’s interaction with the media during the Wimbledon Championships. "We always do that when a player is in demand," Orlandi explained. "The more she plays on the WTA Tour, the better time management a player needs. The WTA recognises this fact and that’s why we want the player’s media interactions to be regulated.

The player has to play, practice, sleep and face the media, too. The WTA is keen to get a system in place where the players do not feel pressured." Apart from Sania, Orlandi has heard of Shikha Uberoi, too, but does not really follow her. "With more WTA tournaments happening in India, I hope this country produces more players like Sania."