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India’s star Tennis player Sania Mirza has announced that the ongoing Australian Open 2022 will be her last Grand Slam. After the defeat in the first round of women’s doubles alongside Ukraine’s Nadiia Kichenok at the Melbourne Park on January 19, Mirza has decided that it will be her last tour of the season.
"There's 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 3-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 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," Mirza was quoted as saying by the Firstpost.
The former doubles World no.1 faced a defeat by 4-6, 6-7 to Solvenia’s Kaja Juvan and Tamara Zidansek. The match lasted one hour and 37 minutes at court 5 in the windy conditions of the Melbourne Park.
The 35-year-old who has six Grand Slam titles to her name wants to continue till the US Open but is unsure of it because of her fitness issues.
"I have a bit of a meniscus issue going on my right knee, woke up with wrist pain couple of days ago. At 35, I am waking up with couple of things that I don't know where they're coming from! I want to finish the season, to at least play until US Open, that is my goal. But I still have to take it week-to-week," she explained.
Despite the defeat in closely-fought contest, Mirza will have another chance in the Australian Open when she takes the court with Rajeev Ram on her side in mixed doubles event against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic and Slovakia’s Filip Polasek. If she retires, her professional Tennis career will last for more than 19 years.
"If this is my last Grand Slam, it is a great way to go out to play with someone who I've known since I was 12 years old and we'll just try to have fun on the court," she concluded.
