Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has won her first doubles match since returning to the WTA Tour following the birth of her son with cricketer Shoaib Malik.
Returning to the court after two years, Sania and her Ukrainian partner Nadia Kichenok prevailed 2-6 7-6 (3) 10-3 over Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia and Japan’s Miyu Kato in a contest lasting one hour and 41 minutes.
During her two years away from the game, the 33-year-old Sania battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break to give birth to her son Izhaan.
The 33-year-old last played at China Open in October 2017.
Former world No.1 @MirzaSania makes a winning return to the @WTA, teaming with Nadiia Kichenok to defeat Oksana Kalashnikova and Miyu Kato 2-6 7-6(3) [10-3] #HobartTennis pic.twitter.com/qqCpKEQX87
— Hobart International (@HobartTennis) January 14, 2020
Mirza took Instagram and thanked the fact that she earned the victory while her son and her parents were by her side
Cricketer Hassan Ali wished Mirza on her triumph too
Good to see after long time bhabi,and congratulation for first won👏👏👏#BELIFE @MirzaSania https://t.co/wfQ1UZvXaa
— Hassan Ali 🇵🇰 (@RealHa55an) January 14, 2020
Azhar Mahmood also poured his wishes for the winning mom
Congratulations Sania. May Allah grant you guys more success with Izhaan and your family by your side always! Ameen. Keep going.
— Azhar Mahmood (@AzharMahmood11) January 14, 2020
More wishes poured for Sania Mirza after she posted regarding her victory on Instagram!
Indian actor Ritesh Deshmukh also congratulated Mirza
The former WTA No. 1 had confirmed her participation in the Hobart International a couple of weeks ago where she also announced the news of her participation in the Australian Open.
Sania is a pioneer in Indian tennis, a former number 1 in the world in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles.
In 2013, she retired from the individual competition after becoming the most successful tennis player in India ever. In 2007, she achieved a career-best 27th place in the WTA single chart.
Congratulations to Sania Mirza for her glorious victory. We definitely wish to see more of her triumphs in the future.