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The short tennis clothes she has to wear in the court has drawn some criticism by Muslim religious groups, Mirza being a practicing Muslim who prays five times a day, and fasts during Ramzan. According to one report published September 8, 2005, an unnamed Muslim scholar had issued a ruling, saying that the women's tennis attire is not suited to Islam. The All-India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board disapproved the edict issued by the anonymous cleric(s) and asked them not to meddle in the sports arena. Jamiat-ulema-e-Hind rejected rumors about disrupting her game saying that they don't stop anyone from playing, although they found female tennis players' dress code objectionable. Nevertheless, the Calcutta police tightened security measures to protect her. In 2006, some newspapers reported that Mirza declined from playing with an Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er for fear of protests from India's Muslim community. However, when she teamed up with Pe'er for the 2007 WTA Tour of Stanford, California, there was no reaction. Mirza was pictured resting her feet and showing her bare soles during a press conference at the 2008 Hopman Cup, with an Indian flag in front. She faced possible prosecution under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act after a private citizen complained. Mirza protested that, "I love my country, I wouldn't be playing Hopman Cup otherwise." On February 4, 2008, Mirza said that she would stop appearing in tennis tournaments held in India, starting with the 2008 Bangalore Open the following month, citing the series of controversies and upon advice by her manager.
In April 2003, Mirza made her debut in the India Fed Cup team, winning all three singles matches. Mirza won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles title, teaming up with Alisa Kleybanova of Russia. Mirza is the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with a career high ranking of 27 in singles and 18 in doubles. She holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to be seeded in a Grand Slam tennis tournament. Earlier in 2005, she had become the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament at the 2005 U.S. Open, defeating Mashona Washington, Maria Elena Camerin and Marion Bartoli. In 2004, she finished runner-up at the Asian Tennis Championship. In winning, with Mahesh Bhupathi, the Mixed Doubles event at the 2009 Australian Open, she became the first Indian woman to win any grand slam event. In 2005, Mirza reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. On February 12, 2005, she became the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title, defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the Hyderabad Open Finals. As of September 2006, Mirza has notched up three top 10 wins; against Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Martina Hingis. At the 2006 Doha Asian Games, Mirza won the silver in the women's singles category and the gold in the mixed doubles partnering Leander Paes. She was also part of the Indian women's team that won the silver in the team event. In 2006, Mirza was awarded a Padma Shri, India's fourth highest honor for her achievements as a Tennis player. Mirza had had the best results of her career during the 2007 summer hardcourt season, finishing eighth in the 2007 U.S. Open Series standings. She reached the final of the Bank of the West Classic and won the doubles event with Shahar Pe'er, and reached the quarterfinals of the Tier 1 Acura Classic. At the 2007 U.S. Open, she reached the third round before losing to Anna Chakvetadze for the third time in recent weeks. She fared much better in the doubles, reaching the quarterfinals in mixed with her partner Mahesh Bhupathi and the quarterfinals in the women's doubles with Bethanie Mattek, including a win over number two seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur. She represented India at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, in the women's singles and doubles events. In singles, she retired in the round of 64, while she was trailing 1-6, 1-2 against Iveta Benešová of Czech Republic. She teamed up with Sunitha Rao for the doubles event. They got a walk-over in the round of 32, but lost to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina by 4-6, 4-6, in the round of 16. Mirza received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from MGR Educational and Research Institute University in Chennai on 2008-12-11. Her niece, Sonia Baig Mirza, studies there.
The short tennis clothes she has to wear in the court has drawn some criticism by Muslim religious groups, Mirza being a practicing Muslim who prays five times a day, and fasts during Ramzan. According to one report published September 8, 2005, an unnamed Muslim scholar had issued a ruling, saying that the women's tennis attire is not suited to Islam. The All-India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board disapproved the edict issued by the anonymous cleric(s) and asked them not to meddle in the sports arena. Jamiat-ulema-e-Hind rejected rumors about disrupting her game saying that they don't stop anyone from playing, although they found female tennis players' dress code objectionable. Nevertheless, the Calcutta police tightened security measures to protect her. In 2006, some newspapers reported that Mirza declined from playing with an Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er for fear of protests from India's Muslim community. However, when she teamed up with Pe'er for the 2007 WTA Tour of Stanford, California, there was no reaction. Mirza was pictured resting her feet and showing her bare soles during a press conference at the 2008 Hopman Cup, with an Indian flag in front. She faced possible prosecution under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act after a private citizen complained. Mirza protested that, "I love my country, I wouldn't be playing Hopman Cup otherwise." On February 4, 2008, Mirza said that she would stop appearing in tennis tournaments held in India, starting with the 2008 Bangalore Open the following month, citing the series of controversies and upon advice by her manager.
