Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza played her final Grand Slam match last month, reaching the Australian Open 2023 mixed doubles final with partner Rohan Bopanna. On Tuesday (February 7), Sania began the final leg of her illustrious career in Abu Dhabi amid rumours of divorce with husband and former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.


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Sania has posted multiple cryptic message on social media, which have added fuel to the fire. On Tuesday, Sania once again fuelled separation rumours with her latest Instagram post. Posting a photo of herself, Sania wrote, ‘This is not the time to lose faith , this is the time to hold onto it’.



Meanwhile, Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered a straight-set defeat against the pair of Kirsten Flipkens and Laura Siegemund in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open. The Sania-Bethanie duo lost 3-6, 4-6 to their Belgian-German opponents in the match that lasted one hour and 13 minutes Monday night to make an early exit from the tournament.


Sania, a six-time Grand Slam winner, is set to retire from professional tennis after playing in the Dubai Tennis Championships beginning February 19. Last month, Sania and Rohan Bopanna had finished runners-up in the mixed doubles in the Australian Open in Melbourne as they lost to Brazilians Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos in the final.


Interestingly, Sania claimed her first major in 2009 at Melbourne Park, when she paired up with Mahesh Bhupathi. And she ended her illustrious Grand Slam career at the same venue.


From 2009 to 2016, Sania Mirza won six Grand Slam doubles titles - three each in the women`s doubles and mixed doubles. In 2015, she even became the world`s No. 1 in women`s doubles ranking.


“The journey of my professional career started in Melbourne in 2005 when I played Serena Williams in the third round as an 18-year-old,” a teary-eyed Sania said after the Australian Open mixed doubles final.


(with agency inputs)