Sania Mirza's podcast is all about serving conversations — with a side of pickleball

When India’s tennis icon Sania Mirza stepped into the new arena of podcasting, she didn’t leave behind the instincts that defined her sporting career, she built around them. "Sport has always been my language, so stepping into podcasting felt like a natural extension of the way I connect with people," Mirza tells CNBC-TV18.

Serving It Up with Sania Mirza, produced by IVM Podcasts, is not a conventional interview show. Each episode opens on a pickleball court, with volleys, banter, missed shots, and laughter, before transitioning into an unfiltered conversation that feels closer to a post-game wind-down than a studio sit-down.

"For years, some of my most honest, fun, and vulnerable conversations happened off camera with friends on a couch or after practice, and I wanted to bring that energy into a format people could actually experience with me," Mirza says. 

The idea, she says, came from her belief that movement lowers defences. "When you move with someone, you drop your guard a little. A rally, a laugh, a bad shot, all of that breaks the ice and allows the real person to show up, not just the media-trained version you see on red carpets or press conferences," she explains.

Pickleball, then, was a deliberate choice. "Pickleball is the perfect bridge between elite sport and total beginners, which is exactly the space this show lives in," Mirza says. "It is fast, fun, and accessible, and people from different ages and backgrounds can play without feeling intimidated, so it sets a playful tone the moment a guest walks on court."

For Mirza, it also offers a way to stay connected to competition without returning to the grind of professional tennis. "For me personally, pickleball is a way to keep that competitive spark alive without the intensity of the pro tennis circuit. Opening with a pickleball rally lets viewers see a different side of my guests and of me, less formal, more mischievous, and very real."

Behind the scenes, the format was shaped closely with IVM Podcasts. "From day one, we were deeply involved in shaping both the tone and the structure of Serving It Up with Sania," says Kavita Rajwade, Co-Founder, IVM Podcasts – Pratilipi. "The idea was never to create a conventional interview show… The goal was always to create something that felt premium yet approachable, competitive yet warm, a format where movement naturally led into meaning."

While hosting is different from competing, Mirza sees familiar parallels. "Hosting is very different from walking on court to win a match, but it taps into some of the same skills, reading people, staying present, and reacting in the moment," she says.

The pressure, however, manifests differently. "The pressure of playing a Grand Slam is very direct, the score is on the board, and everyone can see if you win or lose. With hosting, the pressure is softer but still real," she explains. "On court, the stress lasts for a few hours; with a show, the responsibility feels longer because that episode lives online for years."

Often, the most revealing moments happen before the conversation even begins. "People are very different when they come straight off a court with their heart rate up and a paddle in their hand," Mirza says. "You see their competitive side, how they react when they miss, whether they laugh at themselves, and how they celebrate small wins, all of that reveals character before the conversation even begins."

Once the paddles are down, the stories tend to converge. "Once they sit down after playing, the stories of pressure, self doubt, resilience, and joy sound remarkably alike, just set in different worlds."

According to Amit Doshi, Head, IVM Podcasts – Pratilipi, executing this balance was one of the biggest challenges. "Creatively, the biggest challenge was blending sport and conversation without either feeling gimmicky… But those challenges were also what made the show special."

The podcast’s visual-first, social-forward identity is designed to travel easily across platforms and generations. "Younger audiences connect less with legacy and more with authenticity, energy, and relatability," says Rajwade. "Even if viewers haven’t followed Sania’s tennis career closely, they meet her here as someone playful, sharp, curious, and real."

For Mirza, the hope is simple. "If the podcast can make someone pick up a paddle, join a community game, or simply see sport as a joyful outlet rather than something intimidating, that is a win."

Having lived many lives — athlete, mentor, mother, entrepreneur — she sees hosting as a connective thread. "Being a podcast host feels like the thread that ties many of those identities together because it is all about listening, sharing, and creating space for real stories," she says.

As for who she hopes to welcome next, the criterion is clear. "As long as they are open to picking up a paddle, laughing at themselves, and talking about the messy, human parts of success, they are a dream guest for Serving It Up."

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