Ace tennis star of India Sania Mirza ended her 18-year-long Grand Slam illustrious career with a mixed doubles final defeat at the Australia Open 2023 with partner Rohan Bopanna in Melbourne on Friday.
The Indian duo lost to Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos in straight sets 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the summit clash.
The doubles star player has already announced that she will be retiring from professional tennis after playing in the WTA tournament in Dubai. She was playing her last Grand Slam of her glorious career at the Australian Open.
The former doubles World No.1 ended her glorious career with three mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and as many women doubles titles.
Let’s have a look at Sania’s major achievements…
WTA feat
Sania Mirza is the first and the only Indian woman tennis player to bag a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title of any kind. She emerged champions in two WTA finals. She first partnered alongside Cara Black to win the title in 2014. She paired with Swiss legend Martin Hingis the next year to defend her WTA title.
Grand Slam glory
Sania has won a total of six Grand Slam titles in her illustrious career. As many as three of those titles were clinched in the mixed doubles category. The tennis ace also won three Grand Slam titles with Martina Hingis in women’s doubles. The pair won their first two Grand Slams by winning the Wimbledon in 2015 and the US Open in the same year. The duo went on to clinch the Australian Open the next year to pick up their third Grand Slam title.
Mixed doubles delight
Apart from the doubles glory, Sania has also won three Grand Slams in the mixed doubles category. Sania partnered Indian superstar Mahesh Bhupati to clinch her first two mixed doubles Grand Slams by annexing the Australian Open title in 2009 and the French Open title in 2012. She then paired up with Brazilian star Bruno Soares to add the third Grand Slam to her tally by bagging the 2014 US Open.
World No.1 ranking
The Indian tennis star reached the pinnacle of the game in the doubles category. She achieved doubles World No.1 ranking on April 13, 2015. It was the pinnacle of Sania’s career. She became the first Indian woman to achieve the top ranking in the game.
14 medals in kitty
Sania Mirza bagged a total of 14 medals including six gold medals in different sports events for India. She clinched a total of seven medals in Asian Games across different editions in both women’s double and mixed doubles categories. She also brought laurels for India by winning a women’s singles silver medal and a bronze medal in the women’s doubles at the 2010 Commonwealth games in Delhi.