Sania Mirza hails young guns, but says women's tennis needs big jump in India

New Delhi: Doubles specialist Sania Mirza has hailed India's emerging tennis players, but women's tennis in the country needs to grow further to compete with the best in the world.

Speaking on the sideline of 'WTA Future Stars Tennis Clinic' held at her Tennis Academy in Hyderabad, the multiple time Grand Slam winner said that Indian players would need to "make it to the next level" to get the desire recognition.

"We have to look at it with hope. That is what we are trying to do. I think at the end of the day, we still need time to probably to make it to the next level, especially in women sport. I think in men, we are a bit brighter," she told reporters.

But the 30-year-old express her happiness with the progress some of the youngsters like Karman Kaur Thandi and Prarthana Thombare have made in recent past.

"Having said that, we still need a big jump to happen. Hopefully, it will happen," she added.

In men's circuit, Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna continue to compete on the highest level even as 22-year-old Ramkumar Ramanathan announced his arrival in the next level by winning some tough matches against top players.

Sania also hailed women's cricket team for an impressive performance in the just concluded ICC World Cup.