Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has been forced to retire from her women's doubles first-round match due to a calf strain at the 2020 Australian Open.
“I actually strained it in the final last week. It just got worse in the match. It was a bad strain but I had a few days off.
“It felt ok when I went on the court but it was tough to move right. It was spasming every time I moved right. I felt like I was going to tear it pretty bad,” the star told reporters in Melbourne.
Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok were trailing 2-6, 0-1 against the Chinese pair of Xinyun Han and Lin Zhu before she retired from the match.
The 33-year-old tennis star is returning to the circuit this year after a two-year break after giving birth to her first child.
Ms Mirza was seen struggling on the court with her right calf strapped and also took a medical time out after the first set.
She had previously injured her ab muscle at the finals at Australian Open a few years ago.
“I haven’t had a muscle tear in a few years. In fact, the last time I got one was in Melbourne at the Australian Open. It is something with my muscles and Melbourne,” she chuckled.
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