One of India’s best ever tennis player – Sania Mirza – decided to call time on her career in 2023.
In Short
- Sania Mirza announced her Grand Slam retirement in Australian Open
- Sania Mirza revealed the reason for her retirement from Grand Slams
- Mirza reached the finals of the mixed doubles competition in her last Grand Slam
- India’s legendary tennis star Sania Mirza decided to call time on her career in 2023 after a successful stint at the top level. Mirza, 36, is the former world number one had said ahead of the Australian Open that this was going to be her final Grand Slam appearance. The ace tennis star on Thursday spoke to IndiaToday in an exclusive chat and explained her position.Sania said that her body was beat and had pondered on this decision for a long time.
“It is something that I have been thinking for a while, and I think that my body is beat. I know what is taking me to stay at this level and compete at this level, and I don’t know if I have that in me anymore, and to put that much anymore. So, ya, the tank’s a little bit empty,” Sania told the channel.
Mirza is well regarded as India’s greatest women’s tennis player and has won six Grand Slam doubles titles.”I was going to stop right after the WTA Finals because we were going to make the WTA Finals, but I tore my tendon in my elbow right before U.S. Open, so I had to pull out of everything,” Mirza had told the WTA Tour’s website earlier on delaying her retirement.The tennis star on Thursday said that she has always been an emotional person, but has always faked not being one on the court.
“You are right. I don’t really show too much emotion even when I play. Even when I win or even when I lose, I am in control of my emotions which I wasn’t that day. That doesn’t I am not an emotional person. I just know how to fake it well. That it was all raw and real and I was just not able to control. I had so much emotions you know those last couple of weeks playing there. Knowing that it was the last time I was going to compete in a Grand Slam and I was feeling so grateful and full of gratitude that I was able to finish my Grand Slam journey playing in a final of another Grand Slam,” the legendary player said.
Asked about what advice she would give her younger self, Sania said that she would ask her to live her authentic self.
Mirza became the first Indian to win a WTA singles title, when she won her hometown Hyderabad event in 2005. She broke into the top 30 by 2007 and reached her career-high ranking of world number 27 in the women’s singles competition.