Sania Mirza to stop playing singles on the WTA Tour to concentrate on doubles – Tennis News
India’s number one woman tennis player, Sania Mirza, has announced that she would not play singles matches on WTA Tour from now on and will only take part in doubles. The Indian beauty said that she will offer her services if her
country needed her to play at the Fed Cup or any other international event.
Mirza concentrated on singles at the start of her career and excelled more than any other player from her country, as she rose to the 27th position in the rankings. She became first Indian woman to win a singles title
on the WTA World Tour. The Indian player defeated three top 10 players including Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Martina Hingis in her singles career.
However, it took a toll on her body and she started to suffer from a series of injuries. Mirza came back on the WTA Tour in January after third surgery on her body and since then she has concentrated just on doubles.
In a recent interview, Sania said, “I have played very little singles since I got back after my third surgery in January and I still have too many aches and pains in my body. It's been 20 years since I started playing tennis and
I've spent a decade playing singles and doubles professionally. I still enjoy singles and may play in an occasional tournament or at the Fed Cup if my country needs me. But I think the time has now come for me to completely shift my focus onto doubles.”
Mirza became the first female tennis player from India to win a Grand Slam title, when she partnered Mahesh Bhupathi to capture the Australian Open mixed doubles title in 2009. The Indian star grabbed her second Major crown this
year at the French Open.
However, she was forced to play with Leander Paes at the London Olympics due to a partnership controversy involving All India Tennis Association, Bhupathi, Paes and Rohan Bopanna.
Mirza and Paes lost to the eventual champions from Belarus, Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi, in the quarter-finals.
The Indian beauty, who was angry at Paes and others due to the controversy, praised her Olympics partner, “Leander is a very seasoned doubles player and it was fun to play with him.”
Mirza will be looking to win her third Grand Slam title at this year’s US Open. The Indian star is unsure at the moment that she will play with Bhupathi in the mixed doubles event or not.
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