Sania Mirza during her whirlwind one-day visit to the city on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Sania Mirza was returning to Calcutta after a gap of eight months. It was in September that she had played the WTA Tier III meet here, losing 1-6, 0-6 in the semi-final to the top-seeded Martina Hingis and winning the doubles title with Liezel Huber.

It was a whirlwind day-long promotional tour and the presence of Team India cricketers for the conditioning camp in the city didn’t in any way dampen enthusiasm to ‘catch up’ with Sania.

Crowds overflowed onto the road at her first stop, where she inaugurated a hoarding with her picture on it of course. The scene was no different at her second stop, in a shopping mall where she posed for photographs with the winners of a contest.

But her fans got a tough deal because a tight security cordon allowed none anywhere close to her — not for an autograph, nor to put in a question. Everyone had to be satisfied with a smile from the distance and a wave of the hand.

A knee injury has kept Sania out of action since March. Her ranking has naturally slipped. She is currently world No. 50. But the good news is that she will be back in action soon, in the Tier IV tournament in Morocco beginning on May 14.

Her fitness is still not a hundred per cent (she said she is fast getting there) and plans to be in Morocco by the end of this week, so that she can practise for a week and be well ready for the $ 145,000 event.

It was at her third and final stop, at another city mall that one finally got to hear her voice. “I was here in September and I hope to be back again soon,” said Sania, who revealed that she would have been a doctor had she not become a tennis player.

“I love the people and the city. It’s amazing, the crowd that has gathered here today,” she said with a flourish before leaving for the airport to catch the Hyderabad flight.