NEW DELHI: Tennis ace Sania Mirza on Monday became the first Indian to win the Fed Cup Heart Award for her successful return to the court post motherhood.
Sania and Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova are among the players whose Fed Cup heroics this year have been honored in the public vote for the competition’s Heart Awards, designed to recognize those who have represented their country with distinction, shown exceptional courage on court and demonstrated outstanding commitment to their team.
Sania won the award for the Asia/Oceania zone after securing a whopping 10,000 plus votes out of the total 16,985 cast for this year’s three regional Group I nominees.
A total of four Heart Awards have been handed out – one focusing on the Fed Cup Qualifier rounds (Sevastova), and the remaining three on zonal Group I events – with each winner receiving a cheque to donate to the charity of their choice.
Sania, along with Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit and Mexico’s Fernanda Contreras Gomez, received cheques of $2,000 each for their exploits in Asia/Oceania Zone Group I, Europe/Africa Zone Group I and Americas Zone Group I respectively.
Former doubles World No.1 Mirza, who returned to the sport this year following maternity leave, is the first Indian to receive a Heart Award; the 33-year-old compiled an unbeaten 3-0 record in the rescheduled event in Dubai in March, including partnering Ankita Raina to defeat Indonesia’s Priska Nugroho and Aldila Sutjiadi in the deciding rubber – a victory that sealed India’s second-place finish behind China in the group.
“It’s an honour to win the Fed Cup Heart Award as the first Indian,” said Mirza, who will donate her cheque to the Telangana Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to help the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. “I dedicate this award to the entire country and to all my fans and thank everyone for voting for me. I hope to bring more laurels to the country in the future.”
