DUBAI – Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza will retire next month at the age of 36 after the Dubai Tennis Championships, marking the end of her professional career that was started two decades back.
One of the greatest women’s tennis players announced to hang her boots next month in a recent interview with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
Sania, who has been dealing with a calf injury, cited the age factor as a key reason as she decided to not push her body. “I really don’t have the capacity in my mind to emotionally push that much anymore,” she said, adding that her priorities are not the same anymore.
She will be appearing in women’s doubles at the Australian Open alongside Anna Danilina this month in her final attendance at a Grand Slam event. The ace athlete earlier planned to bid adieu at the end of the 2022 season but was ruled out in wake of an elbow injury.
After hanging her boots after 2 decades of professional tennis, Sania mentioned focusing on her academics in UAE, where she has resided after marriage with Pakistan’s former cricket Shoaib Malik.
The 36-year-old pushed the sports to new heights for South Asian women after winning six Grand Slam doubles titles. She etched her name in history as the first Indian to win a Women’s Tennis Association singles title.
Lately, Sania and her husband Shoaib Malik have been surrounded by divorce rumours for the past couple of months. The duo rumoured to have separated after 11 years of a successful marriage but remain tight-lipped about their relationship.
