India’s Sania Mirza bows out after tennis shock loss in Dubai | Sport

The six-time Grand Slam winner from India had announced his intention to retire after playing in the Dubai Open.

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has withdrawn from the game after a surprising first-round exit in the women’s doubles at the Dubai Open.

On Tuesday, Mirza and her doubles partner Madison Keys from the United States lost to the Russians Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets (6-4, 6-0).

The 36-year-old from Hyderabad, India was playing the final tournament of his storied career after announcing his retirement plans earlier last month.

Mirza and his compatriot Rohan Bopanna were runners-up in the mixed doubles series at the Australian Open last months.

The former women’s doubles world number one ranked 28th in the latest Womens Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, prompting fans to question her retirement plans.

Staying at this level [of tennis] takes a lot out of me mentally, emotionally and physically. “I don’t have the will to push to the end to maintain this level,” Mirza told Al Jazeera earlier this month.

Mirza won six Grand Slam titles and 43 major championships during her 20-year career on the professional tennis circuit.

She is the only Indian woman to reach the top of the singles rankings and reach a career-high ranking of 27th.

Mirza took more than a year off while pregnant with her son and returned to training four months after giving birth.

The former world number one has said that she would consider her career successful if she inspired mothers to continue pursuing their dreams after the birth of a child.

Since Mirza announced her retirement, several female athletes from South Asia have thanked her for paving the way for girls to enter professional sports.

It was really nice to know that I have been able to influence the lives of young girls, especially girls from the peninsula, she said.