‘I'm getting older’ – Sania Mirza announces retirement from tennis

NEW DELHI – Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza Wednesday announced to retire from the gram after finishing the current season Australian Open.

Sania, who is the wife of Pakistan’s cricket star Shoaib Malik, made the announcement after she and her Ukrainian partner, Nadiia Kichenok, suffered defeat in an opening-round loss in the women's doubles event.

"There's a few [sic] 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," NDTV quoted the 35-year-old athlete as saying.

"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," said Mirza on Wednesday.

"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," the athlete said.

"Having said that, I still want to play the season because I'm enjoying it enough to play the year. I've worked very hard to come back, get fit, lose weight and try to set a good example for mothers, new mothers to follow their dreams as much as they can. Beyond this season, I don't feel my body doing it," Sania Mirza added.

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