Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza shares update on her plans to retire from the sport
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza has shared an update on her plans to retire from the sport, saying she plans to hang up her boots at the WTA 1000 event in Dubai in February.
The tennis ace decided to call time on her illustrious career at the end of the 2022 season, citing injuries.
“I was going to stop right after the WTA Finals, because we were going to go to the WTA Finals, but I tore the tendon in my elbow right before the US Open, so I had to pull out of everything,” Mirza told the tour’s website of the WTA. in an interview published Friday.
She said She doesn’t want to be “forced out due to injury” so she has been training.
The two-time Australian Open champion will pair with Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina to compete in the women’s doubles at the 2023 Australian Open, which is scheduled to begin on January 16.
“I’m 36, and honestly, my body is beat up; that’s the main reason for it. I really don’t have the capacity in my mind to emotionally push that hard anymore,” the publication quoted Mirza as saying in a recent interview.
She said her priorities have changed over time, and now her priority is “not pushing my body to the limit every day.”
In January 2021, Sania said, “there are a few [sic] reasons for this. It’s not as simple as ‘ok, I’m not going to play’. I feel like my recovery is taking longer, I’m putting the 3-year-old son at risk of traveling with him so much, that’s something I have to take into account. I think my body is wearing out,” the 35-year-old said.
Mirza became the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title when she won her hometown event in Hyderabad in 2005. She broke into the top 30 by 2007 and reached a career high ranking of world number 27.
After suffering from a recurring, career-threatening wrist injury, Mirza formed a doubles partnership with Swiss great Martina Hingis. The self-proclaimed “Santina” team won 14 titles, including Wimbledon and the US and Australian Opens.