At the Dubai Open, the Indian tennis legend lost with Madison Keys 6-4, 6-0 to Russian duo Liudmila Samsonova and Veronika Kudermetova in her farewell match of her 20-year professional career.
Sania Mirza ends her tennis career after losing in the opening round of the doubles competition at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The 36-year-old Mirza is a former world number one in doubles and a six-time doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam champion, and her trailblazing career has encouraged numerous young people in her nation to play tennis.
Every time there is a glimpse of optimism, Mirza told reporters, “we see either they go to college and never sort of come back to competing, or they’re simply not able to make that next move.”
I genuinely believe that someone who is perhaps five or six years old today will likely be wanting to do more than what I have, rather than just using me as a baseline.
The only other Indian player in the top 300 is Karman Thandi, who is rated 265 at the present. Ankita Raina, 30, is the highest-ranked Indian woman in singles at the time.
Only two Indian women, in addition to Mirza, are ranked in the top 200 in doubles.
“I don’t know if I see someone who is going to dominate at the highest level in the next five to ten years. That is the real story. In her farewell press appearance, Mirza, who was joined by her son Izhaan, 4, remarked.
Mirza has dedicated her attention to her tennis academies as well as serving as a mentor for the Royal Challengers Bangalore women’s cricket team in the Indian Premier League.
adamant about inspiring young Indian girls to “think they can be champions” “Mirza views this position as a fantastic opportunity to do precisely that.
“There is no connection between me being there and cricket at all. For these younger girls, it actually has to do with the mental side of things “She spoke.
“They’ve never been in a position where millions of dollars were depending on them. Several of them haven’t done TV appearances, commercials, or photo sessions.
“It’s very simple to become sidetracked by that stuff. Because there are so many people depending on you, it’s also incredibly simple to become uptight and feel the pressure.
“I’ve had that for the last 20 years of my life, obviously. I believe that by sharing my experiences with them, I will be able to help them feel more at ease, at least in that mental sense.
Also, it gives me the opportunity to share my experience in an effort to improve and increase the visibility of women’s sport across the Indian subcontinent.
