(Sania Mirza, 28, has become the first Indian woman to be crowned the world's top-ranked doubles tennis player. Her sister, Anam Mirza, 21, explains the journey to that mega-accomplishment.)
My first memory of Api was watching glimpses of her forehands while I climbed up a slide behind the tennis courts. Little did I know, one day my Api would be world-famous tennis player Sania Mirza.
Babba and mamma narrated to me a story a while ago - when Api was a child and they drove her around the country to play tournaments, people asked them extremely sarcastically if they were crazy, and if they thought they could make Api another Martina Hingis. Little did anyone know that was Api's plan. People were right, Api was crazy, crazy enough to think she was strong enough to change the world.
My Api is super-human, she trains for six hours a day, she goes to the gym for two hours, she manages to fit in a family dinner and catching up with her friends. She travels to five different countries in three weeks, she doesn't get time to go sight-seeing, she manages to stay active on all forms of social media and she barely eats dessert. And this has been a constant routine for 21 years now.
She is not lucky to be the World Number One today. She has worked hard every day of her life. I've spent my life watching Api work and grow towards her dream. She knew it was hard, she knew it wouldn't be easy but she knew it wasn't impossible. Api has always been my World Number One, but today, she is everyone's.
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