Sania Mirza Biography: Birth, Age, Family, Education, Career, Retirement, Awards, Net Worth and More

Sania Mirza Biography: Tennis star Sania Mirza announced her retirement from professional tennis after the ongoing 2022 season as her body is wearing down. The announcement came after her first-round loss in women's doubles at the Australian Open on 19 January 2022. However, she made it clear that the decision was not triggered by the first-round loss. 

Here's what Sania Mirza said at the press conference after the match. 

"I've decided that this will be my last season. I'm taking it week by week. Not sure if I can last the season, but I want to.

There are a bunch reasons for it. It's not as simple as 'okay I'm not going to play'. I do feel my recovery is taking longer, I do feel, considering my son is three years old, I'm putting him at risk by travelling so much with him, that's something I have to take into account. My body is wearing down. My knee was really hurting today and I'm not saying that's the reason we lost but I do think that it is taking time to recover as I'm getting older.

Also for me to find that motivation every day to come out, the energy is not the same anymore. Right this minute, it's there but there are days where I don't feel like doing that. I've always said that I will play until I enjoy that grind, the process and not just winning but you have to enjoy the process and I am not sure I'm enjoying it anymore. I am enjoying it enough to play this season. I've worked very hard to come back, get fit, lose weight and try to set a good example for mothers, new mothers to follow their dreams as much as they can. Beyond this season, I don't feel my body doing it.

I am playing at a good level. The first week in Adelaide, we (she and Kichenok) beat top-10, 20 players. I am playing at a decent level. I was pretty sure this is my last season if I do finish it. I am sure I am not coming to Melbourne to play Australian Open again.

I had great memories here, singles, doubles and mixed doubles. It's been a great journey. I am not looking forward to June or July, I am literally going week to week, with my body, with a virus, there is so much uncertainty. Every time I play, I feel I have a chance to win, that's why I am here. It is not because of the disappointment of today's match. Just the way my body is. I am not sure if I can finish the season. I want to play a full season, I am still (ranked) 50-60 in the world, I do feel I have the level to play.

As an athlete, I feel I can go deep in tournaments. But I have a bit of a meniscus issue going on my right knee, I woke up with wrist pain a couple of days ago. There is nothing wrong with it. At 35, I am waking up with a couple of things that I don't know where they're coming from. I want to finish the season, try to play until US Open, that is my goal. But I still have to take it week-to-week."

Sania Mirza Biography

Sania Mirza Biography: Birth, Family and Education

Sania Mirza was born on 15 November 1986 in Mumbai to Imran Mirza and Naseema. Her father was a sports journalist while her mother worked in a printing business. 

After her birth, her family moved to Hyderabad where she and her younger sister, Anam Mirza, were raised. Anam is married to cricketer Mohammad Asaduddin, the son of former Cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin. 

Mirza is an alumna of Nasr School, and  St. Mary's College, Hyderabad. She holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai. 

Sania Mirza Career

Sania Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six. She was trained by her father and went on to win 10 singles and 13 doubles titles as a junior player, including the 2003 Wimbledon Championships and the 2003 Afro-Asian Games.

She won her first WTA doubles title at the 2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open, thereby becoming the first-ever Indian woman to achieve the feat. That year, she won six ITF singles titles. Due to her phenomenal performance in the 2005 season, she was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year.

Mirza was seeded at the 2006 Australian Open, thereby becoming the first Indian woman to be seeded in a grand slam event. She won the Banglore Open doubles title. In December 2006, she bagged three medals at the Doha Asian Games— Gold in mixed doubles and silver in women's singles and teams.

During the 2007 summer hardcourt season, she was at her career-best and finished eighth in the 2007 US Open Series standings and her highest singles ranking of world No. 27. She won four doubles titles in 2007.

Throughout 2008, Mirza was plagued by a slew of wrist injuries, requiring her to withdraw from several matches, including US Grand Slams and the French Open. 

She won her first Australian Open Grand Slam Doubles title at 2009 Australian Open and her first Premier Mandatory title at Indian Wells in 2011. The same year she won the Family Circle Cup doubles title. 

Her excellent performance at Fed Cup in Shenzhen with Isha Lakhani helped India advance to the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I for 2013. 

In 2013, she won the Dubai Championships doubles title with Mattek-Sands. Mirza partnered with different players during 2013 and won five WTA titles. She won the 2014 Portugal Open doubles title and finished as runner up at the  Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with Black.

The duo recorded three consecutive quarterfinal finishes in the subsequent clay tournaments, namely the Mutua Madrid Open, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, and the French Open but failed to win any of the titles.  

At the 2014 US Open, she played the mixed doubles in the US Open pairing with Bruno Soares and went on to become the 2014 US Open mixed-doubles champions. The same year she won a gold and bronze medal at the  17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. She also won a bronze medal in the women's doubles tournament with Prarthana Thombare. Black and Mirza won their biggest title together at the WTA Finals. It was the heaviest defeat ever in the doubles final. 

Over the years, she won and lost many matches and rose to a career-high in 2015. She became the first Indian to be ranked world No. 1 in WTA's doubles rankings. She went on maternity leave in 2018 and made a winning comeback in 2020. She along with Nadiia Kichenok won the Hobart International in January 2020. Mirza announced her retirement in 2022 as her body is wearing out. 

Sania Mirza Husband 

Sani Mirza and Pakistani Cricketer Shoaib Malik tied the knot on 12 April 2010 in a traditional Hyderabadi Muslim wedding ceremony at the Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad, India. Their Wedding reception was held in Sialkot, Pakistan. She received Rs. 6.1 million as Mahr, a custom in Muslim weddings. 

As their wedding received online attention, Mirza became the most searched woman tennis player and Indian sportsperson in 2010, according to Google Trends. 

Sania Mirza Son

The couple announced their first pregnancy on social media on 23 April 2018 and gave birth to Izhaan Mirza Malik in October 2018.  and named him Izhaan Mirza Malik. 

Sania Mirza Awards and Recognitions

1- Arjuna Award in 2004

2- WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2005

3- Padma Shri in 2006

4- Brand Ambassador of Telangana in 2014

5- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2015

6- BBC's list of 100 inspiring women in 2015

7- Padma Bhushan in 2016

8- NRI of the Year in 2016

9- Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2016

10- UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia

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