Happy Birthday Sania Mirza: A Glimpse Into The Tennis Star's Inspiring Fitness And Diet Journey

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza would be ringing in her 30th birthday today. Playing and representing India since a young age, Mirza has been formerly ranked No. 1 in the women's doubles rankings. Sania also happens to be the only Indian professional tennis player to be ranked in the top ten in singles or doubles. Sania took up tennis at the age of six and has not looked back ever since. One of the most renowned sports and fitness icons, Sania has been an inspiration for a generation of girls who have looked up to her as she went smashing every record that came her way. But the journey hasn't been all hunky dory for the tennis star, she has seen several rough patches and underwent 5 surgeries in her playing career - though none of those could halt the Hyderabad hurricane and she aced against all odds with her sheer discipline, fitness and hard work.Sania in an interview shared that her workout routine depends heavily on whether it is playing season or not. She tries to train for 4 to 4.5 hours when she is off -season. Her fitness coach introduces a new set of exercises every now and then. She begins her training with a little warm up, which is a mix of a lot of core exercises, followed by 20 to 25 minutes of running and strength and speed training. Sometimes she also does heavy endurance training and Plyometrics - a form of heavy jumping, designed to build strength. At a press event two years back, Sania revealed that when she was 12 years old she used to train for 6 hours a day which has come down to 4-4.5 hours now. Mirza also ensures she sleep for at least 8 hours every night.Mirza's high intensity training is complemented beautifully by her athletic diet. In an interview with NDTV Sports Mirza said ". When you are playing, you eat a lot of carbs. We load up on carbs because you are playing and you need that energy. When we are training in off season, we try to cut down on the carbs and try to eat more protein." Processed food and junk is off the radar for the tennis sensation. In the past few years Sania has also adopted a gluten-free diet. She eats gluten free pasta and rice and chicken and avoids flour and wheat completely.Sania also has her cheat days once in every ten days where she lets her guard off and relishes a good Hyderabadi meaty affair cooked at home. She is an avid lover of spicy food and loves her fill of Hyderabadi biryani and Haleem. An occasional slice of cake and some bread and naans also features in Mirza's cheat binges. But she moderates her indulgences well, and even puts in an extra 20-30 minutes of working out the next day to burn the excess calories.That's her working up her arm strengthSania makes sure she doesn't miss out on her workout even when off shores. That's her sweating out in Central Park.That's another shot from one of her grueling Pilates sessionThat's her enjoying a quick meal with her friendsSania unleashes her adorable desi side as she sips into her chamomile tea from the saucer."So what if I am having Chamomile Tea .. I can still do it the 'desi' way even at a possshhhhh restaurant" she captioned the image.