Sania Mirza to retire from tennis at the end of 2022 season; says body is wearing down

Sania Mirza is playing her final tennis season. She will be retiring after the ongoing 2022 WTA tennis season. She is currently taking part in the doubles at the Australian Open.

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza has announced that she will be retiring after the current tennis season. She is currently participating in the ongoing Australian Open (AO) in Melbourne. She was ousted in the opening round of the women's doubles and her partner Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine. She announced her decision on Wednesday after her ouster in the event.

Sania will also be taking part in the mixed doubles of the AO along with her partner Rajeev Ram of the United States of America (USA) from Thursday. She has won six Grand Slam titles to date, three each in women's doubles and mixed doubles. She also previously broke into the top 30 of the WTA Singles Rankings before focusing on doubles.

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"There are a few 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'm putting my three-year-old son at risk by travelling so much with him. That's something I have to take into account. I think my body is wearing down. My knee was 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," Sania said after her doubles match on Wednesday.

"Also for me to find that motivation every day to come out. The energy is not the same anymore. There are more days than there used to be where I don't feel like doing that. I've always said that I will play until I enjoy that grind, the process which I'm not sure I'm enjoying as much anymore," Sania added.

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"Having said that, I still want to play the season because I'm enjoying it enough to play the year. I've worked very hard to come back, get fit, lose weight and try to set a good example for mothers, new mothers to follow their dreams as much as they can. Beyond this season, I don't feel my body doing it. It's beat," concluded Sania.