“My priority is not to push my body to the limit every single day,” Sania Mirza confirms retirement plan after an illustrious two-decade old career
Sania Mirza is ready to close the curtains on her successful career. The Australian Open 2023 will be her last Grand Slam tournament as a professional player. She will retire after playing in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023.
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Sania Mirza (Image Credit: SportzCraazy)
Sania Mirza is the ‘Pride of India’ in the tennis sport for almost two decades. She broke gender barriers and became an inspiration for millions of girls in India. Many young girls began to dream and play tennis and represent India at the international level.
She turned pro in 2003 at the age of 17 years and since then has performed well in numerous WTA and Grand Slam tournaments. After being a part of numerous WTA seasons and for almost two decades in her career, she decided to hang her boots. She will retire after finishing her stint at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
WTA Insider took to social media to share this news.
Sania Mirza had planned to retire last year. She with her partner Madison Keys qualified for the WTA Finals 2022 doubles event. However, she got injured after the US Open and thus decided to postpone her retirement.
Sania Mirza’s legacy
The 36-year-old has always been considered an outstanding doubles player. She won her first major ladies doubles title with Cara Black, i.e., the WTA Finals 2014. She then won the US Open, and Wimbledon in 2015 titles with Swiss legend Martina Hingis as doubles partner. The pair also won the WTA Finals 2015 doubles title. She also achieved World No.1 ranking as a doubles player. They backed it up by winning the 2016 Australian Open doubles title.
She also shined with Indian male tennis players in Grand Slam tournaments. Sania Mirza partnered with Mahesh Bhupathi to win the Australian Open 2009 and French Open 2012 mixed doubles titles. She has also paired with Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna in various Grand Slam tournaments over the years; however, could not win any title with them. She won her career’s only US Open mixed doubles title with Bruno Soares in 2014.
Besides Grand Slams and WTA tournaments, she has also won medals in Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games in her illustrious career. She had been honored with Arjuna Award in 2004 and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2015. She has also been honored by the Government of India with Padma Shri in 2006 and Padma Bhushan in 2016 for her outstanding contribution to sports in India.
But beyond all the accolades and honors that were bestowed upon her, she will be remembered as the first woman tennis player to breakthrough on the international tennis circuit. She is also a role-model for girls who want to participate in other sports as well.
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Abhar Indorkar
(451 Articles Published)