Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza elected to AITA Executive Committee

Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza were elected to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) Executive Committee on November 5, 2026, after first being chosen as Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit to the AITA General Body. The pair secured places on the 15-member Executive Committee as part of the SOM representatives’ allocation.

The amended AITA Constitution provides for two SOM representatives in the Executive Committee, with one position reserved for a male and one for a female representative. Earlier in the General Body elections Bhupathi and Mirza received 19 and 18 votes respectively. Ashutosh Singh and Shalini Thakur Chawla were the other two candidates elected as SOM representatives.

In the Executive Committee balloting Bhupathi polled 23 votes, the highest total among the candidates, while Mirza received 18 votes. Their Executive Committee seats follow the SOM selections to the General Body that qualified them for consideration.

Speaking after her election, Mirza said: "I think that we are just trying to use our experience to try and understand what the players need more. I think that it's too early to answer the question exactly what, because there are still a lot of things to be put into place with the president, vice president, EC. There are many things still to be done," Sania told ANI. "Our vision and our goal are one, which is to try and make Indian tennis better. And I think all of us come together here with that vision," she added.

Mirza also stressed the need for a comprehensive support system for emerging players, citing quality coaching, tournament exposure, guidance, fitness support and access to physiotherapists and trainers. Those elements were outlined by her as priorities for the players she and other SOM representatives aim to represent.

Bhupathi brings experience as a former doubles world No.1 and a 12-time Grand Slam champion, with four men's doubles and eight mixed doubles titles. Mirza retired from professional tennis in February 2023, reached the world No. 1 ranking in women's doubles in 2015 and won six Grand Slam titles across women's doubles and mixed doubles.

The AITA is scheduled to hold its elections on November 27; the inclusion of Bhupathi and Mirza on the Executive Committee gives them formal roles within the national federation's governance as those elections approach.