Indian tennis great Sania Mirza retires with first round loss in Dubai WTA event

Not the farewell every Indian was expecting.

Tennis ace Sania Mirza retired from the sport with a first-round loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Sania, who had already announced that she'll be retiring after the WTA event in Dubai, lost in straight sets alongside her partner, USA's Madison Keys.

The Indo-American duo was just no match for the Russian pair of Veronika Kudermetova & Liudmila Samsonova, going down 4-6, 0-6 in just a little over an hour.

Sania, who finished runners-up with compatriot Rohan Bopanna in the Mixed doubles event at the Australian Open, bowed out with 6 Grand Slam titles to her name, 3 in women's doubles and 3 in mixed pair event.

She will go down as India's most successful female player to date, having achieved a world ranking of 27 back in 2007.

Sania the legend, will forever stay special for all Indian tennis fans.

Also read: Tennis is important but not everything in my life: Sania Mirza