Sania Mirza, India's first women's tennis superstar, announced her retirement on Wednesday, saying that the 2022 season will be her last.
The famed tennis player, who is an idol 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.
The 35-year-old also said that she is putting her 3-year-old son at risk by travelling so much with him and has taken that in account as well.
"There's 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 travelling so much with him, that's something I have to take into account."
"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 media during the post-match conference.
In her exceptional career as a tennis player, Mirza has won six Grand Slams and has reached the summit of the WTA doubles ranking.
While breaking her plans for retirement, 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 everyday 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.
Mirza is the first Indian to break into the top 30 in the WTA singles ranking.
The athlete shared that she has worked hard to come back, get fit and lose the 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 the 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 sort of fight in the second set, but in the end, it did not prove enough.
The tennis champ had returned to the game after giving birth to her son in March 2019 but her progress was later thwarted by the pandemic caused by Covid-19 outbreak.
The famed tennis player, who is an idol 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.
The 35-year-old also said that she is putting her 3-year-old son at risk by travelling so much with him and has taken that in account as well.
"There's 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 travelling so much with him, that's something I have to take into account."
"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 media during the post-match conference.
In her exceptional career as a tennis player, Mirza has won six Grand Slams and has reached the summit of the WTA doubles ranking.
While breaking her plans for retirement, 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 everyday 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.
Mirza is the first Indian to break into the top 30 in the WTA singles ranking.
The athlete shared that she has worked hard to come back, get fit and lose the 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 the 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 sort of fight in the second set, but in the end, it did not prove enough.
The tennis champ had returned to the game after giving birth to her son in March 2019 but her progress was later thwarted by the pandemic caused by Covid-19 outbreak.
( Originally published on Jan 19, 2022 )
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