Tennis star Sania Mirza is contesting the elections this time

Former Indian tennis star Sania Mirza is contesting the elections to join the Indian tennis administration. She has submitted her nomination in the 'Sportsperson of Outstanding Merit' (SOM) category ahead of the upcoming elections of the All India Tennis Association (AITA). Former Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi has also submitted his nomination in the same category.

According to a report in Indian media outlet India Today, eight former players, including Sania and Bhupathi, have filed their nominations ahead of the SOM elections on November 7. The other candidates are Ankita Bhambri, current Indian Davis Cup coach Ashutosh Singh, Gaurav Natekar, Janaki Krishnamurthy, Shalini Thakur Chawla and current Billie Jean King Cup team captain Vishal Uppal.

Sania has also filed her nomination for the AITA executive committee elections. Mahesh Bhupathi, Ankita Bhambri, Janaki Krishnamurthy and Vishal Uppal are the candidates in this election.

Another Indian tennis legend, Leander Paes, was in the running for the AITA president's post. The West Bengal Tennis Association supported his candidacy. However, Paes' name is not in the SOM nomination list. As a result, his chance of contesting the president's post is effectively closed under the current eligibility rules.

According to the report, as per the National Sports Management Act and Rules, one must have served at least one term in a state sports body to contest elections for the post of national sports body. Page did not fulfill that condition. However, he will be able to contest the AITA elections on November 27 as a representative of West Bengal.

Mahesh Bhupathi has advocated the inclusion of former international players in sports administration. He told news agency PTI that every sports body needs to have players who have played at the highest level so that they can contribute to the development of the respective sport. He cited the contribution of Indian badminton coach Pullela Gopichand as an example.

Bhupathi, a former world number one in doubles, has won multiple Grand Slam titles. Sania, on the other hand, is also a former world number one in doubles. She has won six Grand Slam titles in women's and mixed doubles.

According to the revised constitution of AITA, four representatives will be elected from the SOM class to the General Assembly. Two of them will be male and two will be female. In addition, one male and one female representative will be elected from this class to the 15-member Executive Committee.

The SOM elections are scheduled to be held on November 7 and the AITA elections on November 27. The nominations of Sania and Bhupathi have created an opportunity for well-known faces of Indian tennis to come into the administration.