Sania Mirza concludes her illustrious tennis career: Decoding her achievements
Indian-American pair Sania Mirza and Madison Keys bowed out in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday. The duo lost to Russia's Liudmila Samsonova and Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets. With that, Mirza pulled the curtains on her illustrious career. Earlier this year, the 36-year-old had announced that she would be bidding adieu to the sport. We look at her achievements.
One of the most successful tennis players from India
Mirza is India's most successful female tennis player. She is a three-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles (Wimbledon and US Open in 2015; 2016 Australian Open). She is also a three-time winner in mixed doubles (2009 AO, 2012 French Open, and 2014 US Open). Mirza won 43 titles in doubles and three in mixed doubles, besides a solitary title in women's singles.
Mirza retired as India's number-one player (singles)
Mirza was India's number-one ranked player in singles from 2003 until her retirement from the same in 2013.
A look at her incredible feats
Mirza became the first Indian woman to win a WTA title. She attained the feat in women's singles in the 2005 Hyderabad Open. She is one of only two Indian women alongside Ankita Raina to win a WTA Tour title and the only one to be ranked within the top 100 in women's singles. She remained world number one in doubles for 91 weeks.
First Indian woman to win a Grand Slam
In 2009, Mirza paired up with Mahesh Bhupathi to win the Australian Open mixed doubles title. She became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam honor. Between 2015 and 2016, Mirza and Martina Hingis stitched a 41-match win streak. It was the longest WTA doubles winning streak since Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova's 44 wins in a row in 1990.
First Indian woman to lift WTA Finals title
Mirza is the first Indian woman to win a WTA Finals title. She joined hands with Cara Black to win the 2014 WTA Finals title, beating Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai in straight sets (6-1, 6-0) in the finale. In 2008, she became the first Indian woman to surpass $1 million in career prize money.
Feats galore for Mirza
Mirza is the third Indian woman in the Open era after Nirupama Mankad and Nirupama Sanjeev to win a match at a Grand Slam and the first to rally past the second round. Notably, she owns 14 medals (including six gold medals) at three major multi-sport events, namely the Afro-Asian Games, Asian Games, and the Commonwealth Games.
Mirza announced her retirement in January 2023
Mirza wrote a heartfelt note to announce her retirement from tennis post the Australian Open. She started the season with a three-set defeat in R16 at the Adelaide International 2. She then suffered a second-round exit in doubles at Australian Open. In mixed doubles, she played alongside Rohan Bopanna, only to lose to Brazil's Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos in the final.
