Following her announcement in January that she would end her career at the WTA event in Dubai, star Tennis player Sania Mirza's career ended with a 4-6, 0-6 loss to Vernokia Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Stadium on Tuesday, February 21.
Playing in the doubles category of the event alongside Madison Keys of America, Mirza and her partner were at their best in the first set, locking their Russian opponents 4-4 in the first set. However, Kudermetova and Samsonova broke the pair to take a lead and did not look back from there.
Sania and her partner were broken in the very first game of the second set and it was one-way traffic after that as Sania's final career game ended with a defeat.
In January, Mirza called time on her illustrious career. "I was going to stop right after the WTA Finals because we were going to make the WTA Finals, but I tore my tendon in my elbow right before US Open so I had to pull out of everything," Sania told wtatennis.com.
"And honestly, the person that I am, I like to do things on my own terms. So I don't want to be forced out by injury. So I've been training."
The 36-year-old Sania suffered a calf problem which kept her out of the court. The former doubles no.1 is hoping that the injury won't resurface.
"The plan is to try and retire in Dubai during the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships," she had said.
Sania's last Grand Slam was the Australian Open, where she reached the final of the Mixed doubles event along with Rohan Bopanna but lost to Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos of Brazil on January 27.
Sania was expected to draw curtains on her illustrious career at the end of the 2022 season but an elbow injury delayed her plans. She was ruled out of the US Open and did not make an appearance for the rest of the year.
While Sania has continued to represent India after marrying former Pakistan cricket team skipper Shoaib Malik, she has been living in Dubai for more than 10 years. She will be bidding adieu to the sport at her home base.
She has won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open women's doubles crown once each, besides winning one title each in the Australian Open, French Open and US Open mixed doubles.
