NEW DELHI: Former doubles No.1 Sania Mirza has confirmed her intention to retire from professional tennis at Dubai Tennis Championshipsa WTA 1000 event, which begins on February 19.
Mirza, 36, originally intended to hang up her racquet at the end of last season, but an elbow injury ruled her out of the competition. U.S. Open and forced it to end 2022 as early as August.
A six-time major champion – three in doubles and three in mixed doubles – Mirza has signed up to compete in this month’s Australian Open alongside Kazakhstan Anna Danilina.
The Indian tennis star who has lived in Dubai for over a decade, will next seek to bid farewell to the sport in the Emirates, where she competed for many years in front of her huge fan base.
Mirza has been struggling with a lingering calf problem but hopes that won’t stop him from saying goodbye on the match pitch.
“I was going to quit right after the WTA Finalsbecause we were going to make the WTA Finals, but I tore my elbow tendon just before the US Open, so I had to give it all up,” Sania told wtatennis.com.
“And honestly the person I am, I like to do things on my own terms. So I don’t want to be kicked out by injury. So I trained. The plan is to try to retire in Dubai during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,” she added.
In a recent interview with ‘Curly Tales Middle East’, Sania explained why she thinks now is the right time.
“I’m 36, and honestly my body is beat, that’s the main reason. And I really don’t have the capacity in my mind to push that much emotionally anymore. I turned pro in 2003. Priorities change, and now my priority is not to push my body to the limit every day,” said the Indian.
A mother to 4-year-old boy Izhaan, Mirza recently launched a tennis academy in Dubai, which already operates at three locations and will venture into two more neighborhoods in the coming weeks.
“We’re trying to spread and bring tennis to people, and that’s really the plan,” said Sania, who peaked at No. 27 in the world in singles.
“I feel like why don’t we have players coming out of the UAE when you have money, you have infrastructure, you have everything, but you don’t have the players? There is a problem somewhere, so we need to exploit the problem, whatever it is, and try to be part of a solution.
For me it is important to share my experience in the places where I live that’s why I have one in Hyderabad [since 2013] and one in Dubai,” she concluded.
Mirza, 36, originally intended to hang up her racquet at the end of last season, but an elbow injury ruled her out of the competition. U.S. Open and forced it to end 2022 as early as August.
A six-time major champion – three in doubles and three in mixed doubles – Mirza has signed up to compete in this month’s Australian Open alongside Kazakhstan Anna Danilina.
The Indian tennis star who has lived in Dubai for over a decade, will next seek to bid farewell to the sport in the Emirates, where she competed for many years in front of her huge fan base.
Mirza has been struggling with a lingering calf problem but hopes that won’t stop him from saying goodbye on the match pitch.
“I was going to quit right after the WTA Finalsbecause we were going to make the WTA Finals, but I tore my elbow tendon just before the US Open, so I had to give it all up,” Sania told wtatennis.com.
“And honestly the person I am, I like to do things on my own terms. So I don’t want to be kicked out by injury. So I trained. The plan is to try to retire in Dubai during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,” she added.
In a recent interview with ‘Curly Tales Middle East’, Sania explained why she thinks now is the right time.
“I’m 36, and honestly my body is beat, that’s the main reason. And I really don’t have the capacity in my mind to push that much emotionally anymore. I turned pro in 2003. Priorities change, and now my priority is not to push my body to the limit every day,” said the Indian.
A mother to 4-year-old boy Izhaan, Mirza recently launched a tennis academy in Dubai, which already operates at three locations and will venture into two more neighborhoods in the coming weeks.
“We’re trying to spread and bring tennis to people, and that’s really the plan,” said Sania, who peaked at No. 27 in the world in singles.
“I feel like why don’t we have players coming out of the UAE when you have money, you have infrastructure, you have everything, but you don’t have the players? There is a problem somewhere, so we need to exploit the problem, whatever it is, and try to be part of a solution.
For me it is important to share my experience in the places where I live that’s why I have one in Hyderabad [since 2013] and one in Dubai,” she concluded.
