DUBAI: Indian most successful female tennis player Sania Mirza, announced that 2022 will be her final season on the WTA tour after her first-round loss in women’s doubles at the Australian Open.
“I’ve decided that this will be my last season. I’m taking it week by week. Not sure if I can last the season, but I want to,” the 35-year-old said at the post-match press conference.
@MirzaSania 'Still feel I can play well, go deep into tournaments and all that. But beyond this season I don’t see my by body do it either. It’s beat.'
— Prajwal Hegde (@prajhegde) January 19, 2022
“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. 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, seeded 12th with Nadiia Kichenok, went down to Kaja Juvan and Tamara Zidansek 4-6, 6-7 (5) and is set to play mixed doubles with Rajeev Ram next.
