Sania Mirza bids an emotional farewell to Grand Slam career at Melbourne
It was not the fairy tale ending she hoped for but Sania Mirza, who ended runners-up at the Australian Open mixed double finals, inspired millions of youngsters at home and abroad, and will always have a special place in the history of Indian tennis
Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza bid farewell to tennis after losing the final of the mixed doubles at the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 27. (Image: AFP)
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The 36-year-old Mirza and her 42-year-old partner Rohan Bopanna lost to the Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2. (Image: AFP)
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Emotional Sania Mirza bursts out crying while giving her farewell speech. She spoke about her love for Australia Open, where she shot into the limelight as an 18-year-old when she played Serene Williams in a third-round match. (Image: AFP)
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She played her final Grand Slam match on January 27. She ended her career with three Grand Slam Women's Doubles and three Grand Slam Mixed Doubles titles in her career. (Image: AFP)
Mirza, who is married to former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, has a young son Izhaan and said it was incredible to play in front of him in a major final. (Image: Instagram)
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Sania Mirza, known as a feisty convention-breaker, was the first Indian to win a WTA singles title in 2005 in her hometown Hyderabad. She broke into the top 30 by 2007 and reached her career-high ranking of world number 27. (Image: Reuters)
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Sania Mirza has two doubles titles in Australia Open, one with Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009, her first Grand Slam title. (Image: AP)
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She won the 2012 French Open mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi and the 2015 Wimbledon doubles title with Martina Hingis.
She won the women’s doubles title in Australia Open with Swiss great Martina Hingis in 2016 at Melbourne Park. (Image: AFP) (With inputs from agencies)
