World-famous Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has announced her retirement from professional tennis after the 2022 season.
Sania Mirza said, “There are 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 traveling so much with him, that’s something I have to take into account.”
The famed tennis player, who is an icon for many, made the announcement after her opening-round loss in women’s doubles event at the ongoing Australian Open and said that she feels her recovery is taking longer as she is getting older.
She said, “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,” she told the media during the post-match conference.
Mirza revealed that the energy is not the same anymore and there are days when she doesn’t feel the motivation to come out. “Also for me to find that motivation every day 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,” she added.
The athlete shared that she has worked hard to come back, get fit and lose weight and since she is enjoying the game, she will play the season this year. Mirza wants to set a good example for mothers, especially new moms, to follow their dreams as much as possible. “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. It’s beat,” Mirza added. At the ongoing Australian Open, Mirza along with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok suffered an opening-round loss in the women’s doubles event. Kaja Juvan and Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia defeated Mirza and Kichenok 6-4, 7-6. Mirza and Kichenok were not able to leave any sort of mark in the first set. However, the duo showed some kind of fight in the second set, but in the end, it did not demonstrate enough grit to get through. The tennis champ had returned to the game after giving birth to her son in March 2019 but her progress was later blocked by the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mirza is the first Indian to break into the top 30 in the WTA singles ranking. A former doubles world No. 1, she has won six Grand Slam titles in her career. From 2003 until her retirement from singles in 2013, she was ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association as India’s No. 1.
Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza will be retiring after the 2022 season. In her professional career spanning nearly 2 decades, she earned over $7 million in prize money by winning 1 singles title and 43 doubles titles.
After Virat Kohli’s untimely resignation, and Sania Mirza’s sudden one too, some sports stars seem to be taking a new path of virtue in stepping down.
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