Indian tennis star Sania Mirza has given birth to a baby boy, her husband and Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik announced on Tuesday.
Malik took to Twitter to make the announcement:
Mirza had announced her pregnancy in April this year, but did not mention whether it meant the end of her career, which has been prone to injuries of late. She had said that the baby would bear the Mirza-Malik surname. Mirza and Malik have been married for more than eight years.
Mirza, 31, has been sidelined since October last year with a knee injury. She has slipped from number one in the world doubles ranking – the first for an Indian woman – to 172.
Mirza has won at least one medal at every Asian Games since 2006 and had expressed hope in January of competing in the 2018 edition, before she announced her pregnancy.
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.
However, 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 inputs from PTI and AFP
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