Sania Mirza Launches The Next Set to Support Women Athletes in India
On January 20, 2026, Indian sports icon Sania Mirza announced a new initiative aimed at transforming the support landscape for women athletes in the country. Titled The Next Set, the programme seeks to build structural backing, professional guidance, and holistic development opportunities for female competitors — beginning with tennis but with aspirations beyond the sport.
This initiative reflects a growing recognition across India that talent alone is not enough; sustainable support systems deeply influence whether athletes can reach their full potential on domestic and international stages.
Who Is Sania Mirza — and Why This Matters
Sania Mirza is one of India’s most accomplished athletes. A former professional tennis player born in 1986, she turned pro in 2003 and became a global figure in women’s sport. Over her two-decade career, Mirza won six Grand Slam titles, reached world No. 1 in doubles, and inspired millions of young Indians, especially girls, to take up competitive sport.
Her stature extends well beyond trophies — she is widely seen as a trailblazer for Indian women in athletics, breaking barriers in a field historically dominated by male athletes in terms of both attention and resources.
What The Next Set Is All About
At its core, The Next Set is designed to provide comprehensive and structured support that extends far beyond routine coaching:
1. Professional Support Teams
One of the initiative’s central pillars is access to dedicated support professionals — including coaches, physiotherapists, and fitness trainers — who will accompany athletes during competitive seasons and tournaments. This mirrors the support systems seen in more established sporting nations, where behind-the-scenes staff play a crucial role in performance.
Mirza has emphasized that consistent on-tour professional support can make a measurable difference in preparation, continuity, and performance under pressure.
2. Specialized Trainings and Camps
Alongside on-tour backing, The Next Set will organise specialised camps and coaching clinics focused on both technical and non-technical aspects of athletic development. These intensive programmes are expected to take place primarily at the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy.
Mirza herself will lead many of these sessions, offering insights not just into technique, but also into strategy, mental fitness, and handling the pressures of professional sport — areas often overlooked in traditional coaching models.
3. Holistic Athlete Development
Further than physical training, the initiative highlights a holistic approach — addressing athletes’ mental well-being, tactical awareness, discipline, and long-term career navigation. This is critical in sports because high performance emerges from a blend of physical readiness, psychological resilience, and strategic clarity.
Why This Initiative Is Significant
The Next Set taps into several longstanding challenges facing India’s women athletes:
Bridging the Support Gap
Even in elite sport, foundational support for athletes — especially women — can be inconsistent. Many high-potential competitors face the burden of navigating logistics, travel, training, and recovery without the kind of ecosystem regularly available in developed sporting nations. The Next Set aims to bridge this gap by institutionalising consistent support — a step beyond sporadic sponsorships or ad hoc coaching.
Addressing Gender Disparities
Although Indian women have achieved remarkable success in sports over the past decade, access to structured support remains uneven. From cricket and badminton to wrestling and athletics, female athletes have frequently spoken about the need for better guidance, professional teams, and systemic investment. The Next Set appears to acknowledge that winning medals requires more than individual effort — it requires infrastructure.
From Tennis to Broader Impact
While tennis is the initial focus, the initiative’s broad title and stated aim to support “women athletes” indicate a willingness to expand its reach across disciplines. This could create pathways for athletes in less prominent sports, from track and field events to combat sports, who often struggle for visibility and backing.
Partnerships and Supporters
The Next Set has also secured backing from organisations like BNW Developments and Shookra Polyclinics. These partners not only provide financial assistance but are also said to contribute to the initiative’s long-term operational support — a critical factor for sustainability.
Partnership from entities outside traditional sports bodies suggests growing private interest in nurturing women’s athletics and acknowledges that long-term athlete development requires collaboration across sectors.
Voices From the Ground
At the launch, Mirza spoke about her personal motivations. She described the initiative as a way of giving back to sport — shaped profoundly by her own experiences of highs, lows, injuries, and breakthroughs. According to her, the right mentorship at key moments can often be the difference between stagnation and success.
While it is early days, reactions from athletes, coaches, and supporters have been broadly positive, with many citing the need for exactly this sort of sustained support structure — especially one championed by someone with deep lived experience.
Potential Challenges Ahead
Like any new programme, The Next Set faces challenges:
Scalability
An initiative that begins in elite sport must find ways of scaling without diluting quality. Expanding beyond tennis to support athletes in other disciplines will require significant resources, expertise, and coordination with existing sports bodies.
Sustainable Funding
Long-term athlete development cannot rely solely on short-term funding bursts. The initiative will need a stable financial model to ensure continuity — whether through sponsorships, partnerships, or institutional collaborations.
Integration With National Ecosystems
India’s sports ecosystem includes government bodies, private academies, and national federations. For The Next Set to fully succeed, it will need to work collaboratively with these structures and avoid duplication or friction.
The Broader Landscape of Women’s Sports in India
In recent years, India has witnessed notable progress in women’s sports — from Olympic medals in wrestling, boxing, and shooting to global recognition in cricket and badminton. These achievements have helped shift cultural perceptions and inspired a generation of young athletes.
However, success at the elite level often masks deeper systemic challenges: limited access to quality training facilities, pressure to prioritise academics over sport, societal expectations, and a lack of stable income sources for athletes beyond prize money. Programmes like The Next Set aim to address a subset of these issues by delivering focused support where it can matter most.
Future Outlook
If successful, The Next Set could evolve into a model that:
- Inspires similar programmes in other sports or regions.
- Identifies and nurtures talent earlier, giving athletes a head start with professional support.
- Strengthens athlete retention, helping women stay in competitive sport longer.
- Improves India’s global competitiveness, particularly at major events like the Olympics and World Championships.
Importantly, the initiative also sends a strong cultural message: that elite sports are not just about singular heroes but about systems that uplift and sustain talent.
Conclusion
The Next Set represents more than just a programme — it is a statement of intent. Led by one of India’s most respected athletes, it aims to tackle entrenched challenges facing women in competitive sport by building a support ecosystem rooted in expertise, mentorship, and holistic development. Whether it can transform the landscape at scale remains to be seen, but its launch adds momentum to a broader movement for gender-equitable support in Indian athletics.