Sania Mirza opens up about post-retirement struggle, says, ‘I felt…’
New Delhi: Star Tennis Sania Mirza, who ended her illustrious two-decade career in 2023, shared that she felt “empty” the day after her final match at the Dubai Open.
“Honestly, the first day I woke up after my last match, the morning after…I woke up and felt so empty. My parents were also at that time, like’ but you wanted to retire ya, I did, but that day, it felt like a part of me had died. I don’t know how to put it any other way. It felt like I had to bury that life of mine that I lived for over 30 years and restart something and find a new schedule, a new routine.”
Sania opens up about following a set routine for nearly three decades
Sania further said that after following a set routine for nearly three decades of her life, she suddenly felt adrift. “I woke up in the morning and I realised there is no training or gym, because my entire day would be set. I knew my schedule for the whole year for the last 20 years. And all of a sudden, I didn’t have to do any of that. I just started crying…may be for two hours in my room…but I was howling and crying…which is not my personality…after that, I never cried. It sunk in. It’s also because I felt it was the right decision, because of my priorities. That was a huge adjustment. I am not a person who can sit…so I went into the RCB camp as a mentor..Then I went into TV. And I was like, I am busier after retirement now”
Sania also spoke about how the transition was significant for her family
She also noted that the transition was just as significant for her family, who had devoted so much to her career, “Adjustment for all of us. Not just for me, because even for my parents, 30 years were invested only in me. I was the project of the family. Everybody had to realign themselves and readjust. My father used to travel with me, or my mother used to travel with me. After my son Izhaan was born, there was always the coordination of who was going to come, how, this, that. There was so much. For 30 years, we all had to re-adjust our lives.”
Mirza scripted history in 2005 by becoming the first Indian to claim a WTA singles title, winning the tournament in her hometown of Hyderabad. She entered the top 30 in 2007 and achieved a career-best singles ranking of world No. 27.
Sania stepped away from singles in 2013
Sania stepped away from singles in 2013 and concluded her remarkable tennis journey with six Grand Slam trophies across doubles and mixed doubles, after spending ten years as India’s highest-ranked singles player.
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