After making her last Grand Slam appearance at the Australian Open at the start of this year, Sania Mirza walked into the sunset of her career when she and Madison Keys lost in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Championship on Tuesday.
Here are some of the game-changing milestones of Sania's glittering international career:
BAPTISM BY FIRE: AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2005
The 2004 season saw Sania win six ITF singles titles and her first WTA doubles title at the Hyderabad Open. Sania was a rising star going into her maiden Grand Slam – the 2005 Australian Open.
A wild card entry, Sania upset Australia’s Cindy Watson and Hungary’s Petra Mandula to set up a third round clash with Serena Williams, then a six-time Grand Slam winner. Sania lost the first set 6-1 but put up a gritty display in the second. Though Sania lost the second set 6-4, the 18-year-old Indian served notice.
FIRST BIG SCALP: DUBAI OPEN 2005 QF
Sania’s win over Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Dubai Open confirmed that her Australian Open show was not a fluke. Playing the reigning US Open champion and then world No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinal, Sania trailed 4-0 and was on the verge of retiring due to an ankle injury. But in a sensational comeback, Sania won the next six games and the set. She won the second 6-2 for a huge upset.
STEELY RESOLVE: US OPEN 2014
Sania Mirza’s first Grand Slam win was in 2009, the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi. The duo also claimed the French Open mixed doubles title three years later.
But the 2014 US Open mixed doubles final with Brazilian Bruno Soares stands out for sheer quality. Playing together for the first time, the Indo-Brazilian duo who survived several close calls on way to the final against Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez.
Sania-Bruno won the first set 6-1, lost the second 6-2. In the super tiebreaker, Sania-Bruno took a 9-4. The US-Mexican pair levelled it 9-9. Sania-Bruno hung on grimly to tilt the scales 11-9.
SANTINA’S FIRST SLAM: WIMBLEDON 2015
Sania split with long-time partner Cara Black after winning the WTA Finals in 2014, She teamed up with Martina Hingis in 2015. The duo won three Grand Slams consecutively — Wimbledon 2015 was the first of the lot. SanTina played Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the final.
The Russians won the first set 7-5, before SanTina won the second set tiebreaker 7-6. The Russians raced to 4-1 lead but Sania and Hingis levelled at 5-5 before clinching the 2-1/2 hour marathon 7-5.
FRESH BEGINNING: HOBART INTERNATIONAL
After parting ways with Hingis and several injuries, Sania was low before going on maternity break in April 2018. After giving birth to son Izhaan Mirza Malik, the Indian made a triumphant return to the court at the Hobart International in 2020, winning the doubles title with Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok.
1/10:Sania Mirza bids tennis adieu
Getty Images
2/10:Last Dance
<p>Sania Mirza bid a tearful goodbye to the international tennis at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships<br /></p>Getty Images
3/10:Swansong
<p>Sania & Madison Keys went down 4-6, 0-6 to Veronika Kudermetova & Liudmila Samsonova in the first round<br /></p>Agencies
4/10:Admired
<p>Fans and friends from Hyderabad and locally in the Emirates packed the stand in the outside court<br /></p>Getty Images
5/10:'Son'shine
<p>Sania said she no longer has the drive for "the amount of work that goes into taking care of my body, the mental, emotional part of it"<br /></p>Agencies
6/10:The Champion
<p>The 36-year-old Sania, who turned Pro in 2003, walks out of competitive tennis with six Grand Slam titles<br /><br /></p>Agencies
7/10:Winning combo
<p>Sania won three women's doubles Grand Slam trophies with Swiss legend Martina Hingis<br /></p>Getty Images
8/10:Indian pair
<p>Two of Saina's 3 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles came with Mahesh Bhupathi & she won the US Open with Bruno Soares<br /></p>Getty Images
9/10:Farewell
<p>The 2023 Australian Open was Sania's last Grand Slam, where she ended up runners-up alongside Rohan Bopanna<br /></p>Reuters
10/10:Up next
<p>Having said goodbye to tennis, Sania will be seen as the mentor of RCB team in Women's Premier League<br /></p>IANSSania saved her best for the last against China’s Zhang Shuai and Peng Shuai. Sania-Nadia won 6-4, 6-4.
