Indian Tennis sensation Sania Mirza confirmed her retirement at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai next month. Mirza had initially planned to retire after completing the 2022 season, but after injury issues sidelined her in the second half of the year, she decided to delay her retirement.
Sania Mirza will be playing in women’s doubles at the Australian Open this month alongside Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina. This will be her final appearance at a Grand Slam event after she missed the US Open last year due to an elbow injury. Other fitness issues have also troubled her in the recent past. This includes a persistent calf problem. However, she is adamant to be able to say goodbye to the game on a match court.
Mirza told wtatennis.com,
“Honestly, the person that I am, I like to do things on my own terms. So I don’t want to be forced out by injury. So I’ve been training.”
She further added,
“For me, it’s important to share my experience in the places that I live in, that’s why I have one in Hyderabad and one in Dubai.”
Sania Mirza is one of the precious gems of Indian tennis in a generation that did not see much success outside the doubles circuit. Sania won six Grand Slams and became the World No. 1 doubles player. She is, so far, the last Indian to reach the second week of a Major, making it to the fourth round of the 2005 US Open. Sania Mirza’s final professional event, the Dubai Tennis Championships, will kick off on February 19.
