Indian Tennis player Sania Mirza announced her retirement from tennis after her first-round exit in her women’s doubles match at the Dubai Open.
Mirza was paired with US player Madison Keys and they lost to the Russa’s Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets (6-4, 6-0) on Tuesday.
Mirza who is a 36-year-old player from Hyderabad was playing the last tournament of her gloried career in Tennis after announcing her retirement plans earlier this month.
At the Australian Open held last month Mirza along with her compatriot Rohan Bopanna, were runners-up in the mixed doubles category.
According to the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) latest ranking, the former women’s doubles world number one was ranked at 28 making fans question her plans to retire.
Mirza had earlier stated that to stay and maintain the level of Tennis she is now not able to give mental, emotional, and physical will to push herself.
Mirza had won six grand slam titles and 43 major titles in her 20 years of a tennis career. She is the only Indian woman to top doubles rankings, and reach career-high singles ranking of 27.
During pregnancy with her son, Mirza took a year and half career break and returned to training just four months after delivery.
She termed herself successful in her career if she can inspire women to pursue their careers after giving birth.
Several female athletes from South Asia have shown their gratitude towards Mirza for paving their way toward professional sports after she announced her retirement.
“It’s been really nice to know that I have been able to make a difference in young girls’ lives, especially those from the subcontinent,” she said.