Pickleball, the latest sensation, just found a fan in Anam Mirza, fashion curator and younger sister of tennis champion Sania Mirza. Anam, an entrepreneur, runs multiple fashion labels, and recently partnered with Global Sports for Dubai Open, where she was seen promoting the sport. Anam, 31, said while she was “terrible at tennis” unlike elder sister and tennis legend Sania, pickleball seemed to be a “” for her.
“Associating with Global Sports Pickleball, kind of introducing the game in Dubai, and now having this tournament have been very exciting. I was obsessed with pickleball for a couple of months. My husband (Mohammad Asaduddin) and I were playing almost every other day, every other night, and it was really fun and for somebody like me, who has tried to play tennis but was terrible at it. Pickleball seems like a perfect fit,” said Anam.
Anam’s husband is cricketer Mohammad Asaduddin, son of former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin. She said being best of friends with your partner is quite essential for a healthy, loving relationship. “When it comes to relationships, I’ve always wanted to be best of friends with my partner. With Asad, it’s almost like I married my best friend and we’re able to communicate with each other. We’re also very comfortable having uncomfortable conversations,” said Anam.
She admitted that her “family life is going great.” Her daughter Dua is two and a half years old and has just started going to school. “We’re getting used to that. We had episodes of her crying before she could make it to school so now she’s just settling in,” said Anam.
A typical day in Anam’s life starts at 6:30 AM. “I finish a quick run, and then I get my daughter ready for school, drop her to school, finish a quick meeting around the school area, get a cup of coffee and it’s time to pick her up,” she said, adding, “I pick her up from school, I drop her home and that’s when my day properly actually begins. I spend the day at office, meetings, all of that before I wrap up around 5:30–6:00 PM,” said Anam.
Anam also said that she then “quickly” squeezes in a 45-minute workout session in the evening again with weights. “Then I am back home to do my night routine with my daughter. So weekdays are pretty hectic and kind of streamlined,” she said.
While she thinks that ageing is “inevitable,” as a woman, she feels there are many bodily changes that nobody prepares you enough for.
“When you’re in your teens and your early 20s, you don’t even realise that you are getting older. Like now, I just tapped into 30 and now I realise that, oh my god, my body is not like it used to be. I used to eat so much food and it never showed up but today I eat a little bit of food and it shows up. So, you don’t realise that your metabolism changes, you change,” said Anam.
According to her, it is essential to exercise. “I didn’t workout until a year and a half ago, but now that I do, I think that’s changed my life. Ageing is inevitable but you can age gracefully with exercise being a non-negotiable factor,” said Anam.
A lot of people prefer comfort over fashion but the fashion entrepreneur believes the right choices come from stepping into uncomfortable zones, and “doing things that I feel like you normally wouldn’t”.
“I really stand by that when it comes to my own fashion choices. For me, it’s always stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new and unexpectedly figuring out that it is a part of your fashion personality even when you don’t think it is,” said Anam.
On her bond with Sania, who is eight years older, Anam shared that in her formative years, she considered Sania her second mom. “When I was growing up, she was almost a second mom to me because we have a eight years difference. But I think as we grew up, we became best of friends. She’s one of my best friends. I go to her for all my advices, everything, good, bad, ugly, small, big, everything needs to go to her. So, we’re very close like that. Seeing her what she’s done, the self-belief that she has is something that I try to replicate in my life. She is pretty amazing,” said Anam.
Anam said she is now trying to slow down the pace of her life.
“I think something I’m really actively trying to do right now is slow myself down, have a slower life, do more , and do it at my own pace. So, I think that’s what I would tell my younger self because my younger self was constantly chasing something or the other,” shared Anam.
