Grand Slam-winning Indian tennis star Sania Mirza on Monday announced that she is pregnant, but did not say if this meant the end of her injury-prone career.
Mirza and her husband, former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, posted a picture on their Twitter accounts of a baby vest and a feeding bottle between two T-shirts bearing their names. The couple celebrated their eighth marriage anniversary a few days back on April 12.
It was accompanied by the hashtag #BabyMirzaMalik.
Mirza’s father and coach Imran confirmed to PTI that the six-time Grand Slam champion is indeed expecting a child, due in October this year.
The three-time Grand Slam doubles winner had said earlier this month that any child she had would bear the Mirza-Malik surname and that Shoaib wanted a daughter.
The 31-year-old has been sidelined since October with a knee injury. She has slipped from number one in the world doubles ranking – the first for an Indian woman – to 24.
Mirza has won at least one medal at every Asian Games since 2006 and expressed hope in January of competing in this year’s event in Indonesia. In 2005, she became the first Indian to win a WTA tournament singles title. She reached the fourth round of the US Open in the same year, and by 2007 was among the women’s top 30.
But a wrist injury ended her singles dream and she focused on doubles tennis. A partnership with Swiss great Martina Hingis produced three Grand Slam titles.
(With AFP and PTI inputs)
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!