Sania Mirza targets Tokyo 2020 Olympics to make comeback after pregnancy

Sania Mirza targets Tokyo 2020 Olympics to make comeback after pregnancy

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Sania Mirza, who is currently expecting her first child with husband Shoaib Malik, has revealed that she is targeting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to make a comeback to pro tennis. Mirza was adamant that she would be able to balance her family life as well as her career as a professional tennis player.

Former world number one in doubles, Sania Mirza has been an inspiration for young Indian tennis aspirants ever since she went pro in 2003. Mirza’s ranking of 27 in mid-2007 is still the highest singles ranking achieved by any Indian female tennis player till date. However, the 31-year old player had to take a break from the game after she and Pakistan cricketer, Shoaib Malik announced that they were expecting a child in the next few months.

Mirza, however, denied claims that she was quitting the game for good as she said that she has set herself a target of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to make a comeback to professional tennis.

“There’s an option of protective rankings where you protect your ranking and then try and come back… So you can freeze your rankings. I have done that. It’s a long way off. We are still in 2018 and my goal is obviously to try and come back to the 2020 Olympics,” Mirza told Indian Express.

Kim Clijsters and more recently Serena Williams are the two high-profile names who made successful comebacks when they took some time off from the sport after the delivery of their kids. Mirza looked up to them for inspiration as she aimed to get back to her best in the near future.

“There are at least 20 mothers out there who are playing, which is incredible, including Kim Clijsters who’s come back and won grand slams after she’s had a child. Serena is the greatest tennis player we have, but even for her, it has not been easy. To be out of the game for a year and a half and then get back into the back to the same level isn’t easy. You can get back into the game, but to reach the same level takes time,” Mirza said.

The six-time Grand Slam title winner also said she was never a person who followed the “traditional women route” all through her life. She was adamant that she would be able to balance her professional life in tandem with her responsibilities as a mother and a wife.

“I have not followed the ‘traditional women route’ in my life. I have always been the odd one out and I am glad that I was one. My parents have always supported all my decisions — so whether I was playing tennis in Hyderabad at a time when nobody dreamed of playing tennis or winning Wimbledon or marrying the person that I loved or having a child after eight years of our marriage — I have always lived life on my own terms,” she added.

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