Sania Mirza to retire after 2022 season: 'Body wearing down'

ACE Indian tennis star Sania Mirza on Wednesday (19) said 2022 will be her final season since her body is “wearing down” and the motivation and energy for everyday grind is not the same anymore.

The 35-year-old player, who returned to the court after giving birth to her son Izhaan in October 2018 but her progress was later thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic. The former world No.1 in doubles made her announcement after losing in the first round of the ongoing Australian Open with Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok.

“There’s a bunch 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 do feel, considering my son is three years old, I’m putting him at risk by travelling so much with him, that’s something I have to take into account," Mirza, who is married to Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik, said at the post-match press conference.

“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 said.

Mirza, who had won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls’ Doubles title, had risen to her best singles ranking of 27 in 2007. A wrist injury later forced her to give up her singles career and she focused on doubles subsequently and proved to be more successful. She has had 43 career titles in doubles (she has one in singles and three in mixed doubles) and reached the Olympic semi-finals in mixed doubles in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016. She had won the doubles titles in Australian Open (2009), French Open (2012) and the US Open (2014).

She is currently ranked 62nd worldwide in doubles.