After a two-year of maternity break, tennis champion Sania Mirza made a rocking comeback and lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok. The dynamic duo edged out Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final Saturday. The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair silenced second seed Chinese team 6-4 6-4 in a match that lasted for one hour 21 minutes.
Mother of son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania missed the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons due to the birth in October last year. Sania has had an illustrious career as she has achieved path-breaking honours. In her second innings, she returned to the court after maternity break. The former world number one also aims to play in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. But before that, she is going to start her journey back to competitive tennis at the Australia Open. She is expected to play both the women’s doubles and the mixed doubles events.
Key Takeaways:
- Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style. She will play both the women’s doubles and the mixed doubles events.
- She has been away from the sport for more than a year mostly taking care of her son Izhaan.
- She missed the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons due to the birth of her son Izhaan in October last year.
- The former world number one also aims to play in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
This was Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Sania and Nadiia received USD 13580 as prize money and earned 280 ranking points each for their winning effort.
Fitness mantra
The ace tennis player keeps updating her fans about her fitness routine after the birth of her baby boy. We caught a few glimpses of her weight loss journey, posted on Instagram. She shares videos of her working out at the gym and how to lose the post-pregnancy weight.
Before pregnancy, Sania won six doubles Grand Slam titles — including three mixed —achieved the number one rank
The 33-year old also motivated fans in an Instagram video talking about how she lost 26 kgs in four months. “The reason I never committed to coming back to tennis was because that I didn’t know how my body would react. It takes a tremendous toll when you are a professional athlete. It’s the same when you take care of an infant. Both are physically and emotionally demanding,” she told Mid-Day.
“I have achieved everything which I could have dreamt of in my career, whatever happens next will be a bonus for me,” she said.
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Talking further about how ace Serena Williams, who too rocked a post-pregnancy comeback, inspired her, Sania claimed, “There is enough self-motivation to come back but it’s nice to see people like Serena competing at Grand Slams after having a baby, it’s obviously very inspiring.”
In a throwback video, she also announced that she managed to lose 26 kgs in the span of four months.
READ: Sania Mirza’s Career’s Greatest Achievements
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