Starting gym training a few weeks after giving birth to her son, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza is eyeing a comeback to tennis late in 2019.
In an interview with the Times of India, the former World No 1 in doubles said she is not putting any pressure on herself over returning to the circuit, focussing on getting to her ideal weight before starting a full training schedule.
“I don’t have a specific date. Realistically speaking, I’m looking at late next year (2019). I need to take this slowly and be prepared,” Mirza said.
“I’m a perfectionist, anything I do I want to do it properly. I would like to come back and compete at the level I competed at. I want to be the best mother, best player I can be. I would like to be at the top level. You have to hope for the best, try and get back to that level. I am not putting any extra pressure on myself. There are a lot of changes taking place in the game, people are quitting, Lucie Safarova is retiring, Elena Vesnina just had a kid too. I will take a call as we go along, will cross that bridge when I come to it.”
Mirza and Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik announced the birth of their son, Izhaan, in October.
She posted a recent update on Instagram, saying “getting there ... slowly but surely.” The six-time major winner (three doubles and three mixed doubles) said she is not much of a planner but taking it one step at a time.
“I can’t wait to start playing again. Tennis is in my blood. It’s just that priorities change when you’re expecting. You want to have a healthy baby, you want to be healthy. At that point, I wasn’t thinking of tennis. I’ve never been a huge planner, what I would be doing one year later, or six months later or after the baby was born.
“So when I was pregnant, I saw no point in talking about what I would be doing after I gave birth, if I would come back or when I would come back. You don’t know how things are going to turn out.”
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!