India tennis player Sania Mirza wrapped up her legendary Grand slam career as Australian Open mixed doubles runner-up in Melbourne.
Sania Mirza and partner Rohan Bopanna lost to the all-Brazilian pair Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos in the mixed doubles final here at Melbourne Park.
Sania claimed her first major in 2009 at Melbourne Park, when she paired up with Mahesh Bhupathi. And she ended her illustrious Grand Slam career here.
Outside Australia, she earned four other Grand Slam titles: 2015 Wimbledon and 2015 US Open women's doubles with Hingis, 2012 Roland Garros mixed doubles with Bhupathi and 2014 US Open mixed doubles with Bruno Soares.
"The journey of my professional career started in Melbourne in 2005 when I played Serena Williams in the third round as an 18-year-old," an emotional Sania said.
"It's truly special for me to play with Sania," he said. "Our first mixed doubles match was when she was 14 years old and we happened to win the title.
"Today we get to play the last match here on Rod Laver Arena. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the title, but thank you so much for your time, for Indian tennis, for inspiring each and everyone," said Sania.
The six-time Grand Slam champion, Sania, earlier this month announced that she will retire from professional tennis after the Dubai Tennis Championships, a WTA 1000 event, which begins on February 19.
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