Sania Mirza bows out of Grand Slam tennis

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Sania Mirza, Indian trailblazer, said goodbye to Grand Slam tennis on January 27 with defeat in the Australian Open mixed-doubles final playing alongside Rohan Bopanna – her first playing partner 22 years ago.

Regarded as her country’s greatest women’s tennis player, the 36-year-old Sania returned to Melbourne Park for one last hurrah but she and 42-year-old Rohan lost the match to Brazilian pair Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos.

Sania was in tears in the post-match presentation ceremony.

”Rohan was my first-ever mixed-doubles partner at (aged) 14 and we won the nationals,” said Sania, a six-time Grand Slam champion, three in doubles and three in mixed.

Sania, who was married to former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, has a four-year-old son Izhaan and said it was incredible to play in front of him in a major final.