Sania Mirza has announced that she will be playing her final tennis match at the LB Tennis Stadium in Hyderabad “where it all started” as she concludes her illustrious career in the sport.
“I’m all set to play my last-ever tennis match, exactly where it all started for me 18-20 years ago, on the 5th of March. And I will have all my close friends, my family, my partner coming and I can’t wait to play in front of you one last time,” the Indian tennis legend and former doubles World No 1 announced on Instagram.
At the LB Stadium, Sania will be playing two exhibition matches. The first will be a rounders match between two teams, one led by Sania and the other by Rohan Bopanna while the second will be a mixed doubles match between Sania-Bopanna and Ivan Dodig-Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
“I hope to end this journey on a beautiful note, in front of my friends, my family and most important of all, my most loyal fans and followers who have been through everything with me, in this journey,” she further stated.
The tickets for the matches are now on sale online, with the prices ranging between Rs. 499 to Rs. 749.
Sania has won six majors in her 20-year professional career, winning three women’s doubles and as many mixed doubles title. The only Indian woman to advance beyond the second round in the Open Era, Sania remained the world’s top doubles player for a total of 91 weeks.
The 36-year-old closed out her glorious career with a first round defeat at the WTA Dubai Duty Free Championships last Tuesday. She and American partner Madison Keys lost in straight sets (4-6 0-6) to the Russian pair of Vernokia Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova.
