Sania Mirza Opens Up On Battle With Depression

India tennis star Sania Mirza has opened up on her battle with depression and her ordeals with mental health particularly post her exit from the Beijing Olympics in 2008. After a wrist injury against Czech Republic’s Iveta Benesova, Sania had retired in the first round of the 2008 Olympics. She was trailing 6-2, 2-1 in the match but had to retire out of sheer pain.

“Many times we rely so much on our career to bring happiness into our lives. We hardly remember that career is just a part of our lives,” Sania said in a YouTube interview for Mind Matters. “When I was 20, I had many doubts and felt many times that I could not do this, but at 34, it is a lot clearer in my mind with circumstances. One incident that struck me was when I had to pull out of my match at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I had a very bad wrist injury. I went into depression for 3-4 months after that, I remember crying for no reason. I would be absolutely fine and then I would burst into tears. I remember not coming out of my room to even eat a meal for over a month,” she added.

Sania further added that she started believing that she would never be able to play tennis ever again. “The fact that I was being forced into not being able to do what I love or what I do, was really bothering me. For a 20-year-old to read that you’re finished or you are not going to be able to compete at Olympics ever again, it’s a lot to take.”

She elaborated on her pain saying that it was so worse to even comb her hair. She also underwent surgery. “But after surgery, it got worse. It was a complicated thing that was happening. I felt I let my family and country down. My family helped me see the right direction and I got the help I needed. I happened to win two medals at the Commonwealth Games that happened in India”. Sania Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2003.

She won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls’ Doubles title, partnering Alisa Kleybanova. She won three straight matches while representing India in the Fes Cup. She helped India win a bronze medal in the mixed doubles event of the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, partnering Leander Paes. She picked up 4 gold medals at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad. In total, Sania has won 14 medals (including 6 gold) at three major multi-sport events, namely the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the Afro-Asian Games. She has also won six Grand Slam titles in her career.