Melbourne: India’s most successful female tennis star Sania Mirza will be quitting as a professional player at the end of this season. Not only is she fast losing motivation, Sania is worried about putting her three-year-old son at risk.
The 35-year-old Sania, the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam and be ranked No. 1 in doubles, made the announcement after a first-round defeat the Australian Open women’s doubles competition on Wednesday.
“There’s a few reasons for it… It’s not as simple as ‘okay I’m not going to play’. I do feel my recovery is taking longer, I’m putting my 3-year-old son at risk by travelling so much with him, that’s something I have to take into account. I think my body is wearing down. My knee was really hurting today and I’m not saying that’s the reason we lost, but I do think that it is taking time to recover as I’m getting older,” Sania said after she and Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok lost 4-6, 6-7 to Tamara Zidansek and Kaja Juvan.
Sania, a four-time Olympian, won half a dozen Grand Slam doubles (three women’s and three mixed) titles during an illustrious career. She’s also the first Indian woman to be ranked in the world’s top 30 in singles.
“Also for me to find that motivation everyday to come out. The energy is not the same anymore. There are more days than there used to be where I don’t feel like doing that. I’ve always said that I will play until I enjoy that grind, the process which I’m not sure I’m enjoying as much anymore, said Sania, adding that she had made the decision at the end of last year.
Bhubaneswar: The prevailing heatwave conditions pushed the mercury levels up to 38.4°C in Odisha's Talcher…
New Delhi: Amid the countrywide alarm post-AstraZeneca's admittance of the side effects of its COVID-19…
New Delhi: The Delhi Police has filed an 8,000-page chargesheet with annexures against the news…
Kendrapada: The three-month ban on entry of tourists to Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapada district…
New Delhi: Panic gripped schools in the national capital after several campuses of Delhi Public…
Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will campaign for BJP ahead of the first-round of elections…
Bhubaneswar: The Congress has nominated Biswabhusan Das, who had returned to the party from BJP…
New Delhi: A man in Bihar married his mother-in-law after the family after he had…