The number one ranked doubles player on the WTA Tour is speaking out about the selection process for India's Olympic team for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro. No decisions have been made yet on who will play in doubles for India, but if Sania Mirza has her way, she will not be silent when those choices are made.
2012 Drama Centered Around Problems Between Paes and Bhupathi
Sania Mirza says she will not allow herself to be used again when it comes to India's selection of who will and who won't play doubles at next year's Olympic Games. Mirza says she was used as "bait" in 2012 when India was making their selections. At the time, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and the All-Indian Tennis Association (AITA) were engaged in a series of disagreements on team selection. Mirza says she felt like she was caught in the middle of a chauvinistic war that centered mostly around the choices of who would play men's doubles at the London games.
Bhupathi had gone on record wanting his then-ATP World Tour partner Rohan Bopanna as his partner in London, while the AITA wanted Indian legend Leander Paes to pair with Bhupathi. When the choice was made, Bhupathi lashed out at the association, saying it was the worst possible choice in the interest of the country. Bhupathi and Bopanna would both refuse to play with Paes at the London games for personal and professional reasons. That left India to ultimately send two separate men's teams to the 2012 games. Paes paired with Vishnu Vardhan, while Bhupathi and Bopanna did pair together. Both teams would lose in the second round of the competition.
Mirza Penned Open Letter to AITA
Mirza became involved in the dispute when she spoke out on the men's selections. She said felt forced into a partnership with Paes in mixed doubles at the London games. Mirza believed that she was paired with Paes by the AITA to pacify Leander after the decision was made not to pair him with either of the other top Indian men's doubles choices. That came about when both Bhupathi and Bopanna balked at playing alongside him. The decision to pair Mirza and Paes came even though Bhupathi and Mirza had won the mixed doubles championship at the French Open in May 2012. Mirza said in an open letter to the AITA at the time, that she thought the selection was wrong to pair her with Paes, saying "To Leander, I would like to point out that Vishnu is an extremely talented player. For Leander to consider partnering with Vishnu only if he has a written assurance from me to play mixed doubles is, I think, demeaning for me."
Mirza did not stop there, telling the AITA that she did not appreciate being caught in the middle of the spat between Paes and Bhupathi. She felt like she was "bait" to get Paes to play, stating that "While I feel honored and privileged to have been chosen to partner Leander, the manner and timing of the announcement reeks of male chauvinism where a two-time Grand Slam champion, who has been India's No. 1 women's tennis player for almost a decade in singles and doubles, is offered in compensation to partner one of the feuding champions in order to lure him into accepting to play with a men's player he does not wish to play with!"
Paes and Mirza would eventually lose in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles competition at the London games to Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus. Azarenka-Mirnyi would go on to win the gold medal.
More Harmony Currently Among India's Top Players
Mirza went on record recently saying that she hopes that her voice will be heard regarding team selections for 2016. At this time, no decisions have been made regarding which men's players will go to Rio or who Mirza will partner with in mixed doubles. The general feeling at this moment seems to be much more peaceful than it was back in 2012. Bhupathi and Paes have somewhat patched up their rift in the past few years. Bhupathi publicly came to Paes' defense in 2014 when Leander was going through a bitter court battle for custody of his daughter. That seemed to help melt some of the frost off their relationship. Paes has further helped repair their strained relationship by taking part in this year's IPTL, which was founded by Bhupathi. That comes one year after Paes had questioned the sustainability of the league.
As for the selection of partners for next year's Rio games, Mirza said it is still too early at this point to make those decisions, saying "It depends on who is healthy, who is playing well, who is not playing well, which two people get along on the court and which two don’t. It’s just a decision that needs to be made, I don’t think it needs to be made right now."
Mirza says she hopes her elevated status as the top ranked women's doubles player will allow her to have her say when decision are being made in 2016. Mirza is coming off one of the most successful doubles seasons in recent memory paired with Martina Hingis. Mirza-Hingis won nine titles in 2015, including both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open women's doubles titles.
Decision Making Should Be Easier This Time
The decisions this time could much more simplistic with Bhupathi focusing more in recent times on his off-court business interests like the IPTL and playing less on the court. Rohan Bopanna, India's current top men's doubles player, has hinted that Leander Paes will be his best bet to partner with this time in Rio in men's doubles. That may leave the mixed doubles as the only question mark for India. Bopanna and Mirza have played doubles at the IPTL this year some, perhaps a hint at the future. This time around, it may be Mirza's choice of who to partner with, rather than having someone assigned to her for the Rio games. That would be a great sign of growth for Indian tennis.