On Wednesday, India's most successful female tennis player, Sania Mirza, announced that 2022 would be her final season on the WTA tour after her first-round loss in women's doubles at the Australian Open. Sania said, "There's a bunch of reasons for it. It's not as simple as 'okay, I'm not going to play.' I do feel my recovery is taking longer; I do feel, considering my son is three years old, I'm putting him at risk by traveling so much with him; that's something I have to take into account. Also, my body is wearing down. My knee was really hurting today, and I'm not saying that's the reason we lost, but I do think that it is taking time to recover as I'm getting older."

She also added, "Also, for me to find that motivation every day to come out, the energy is not the same anymore. Right this minute, it's there, but there are days where I don't feel like doing that. I've always said that I will play until I enjoy that grind, the process, and not just winning, but you have to enjoy the process, and I am not sure I'm enjoying it anymore. I am enjoying it enough to play this season. I've worked very hard to come back, get fit, lose weight and try to set a good example for new mothers to follow their dreams as much as they can. Beyond this season, I don't feel my body doing it. It's beat."The 35-year-old also said she had already decided that 2022 would be her last season, and the first-round loss didn't trigger it.

Sania, currently ranked 68th in the world, is a former World No. 1 in doubles and also in singles attained a career-best ranking of 27. She is the first Indian to win a Grand Slam. Sania last won a major in women's doubles at the Australian Open 2016 with Martina Hingis - with whom she formed one of the most formidable doubles pairs in women's tennis.