New Delhi, Nov. 22 -- Sania Mirza, who announced her retirement in 2023 after playing tennis for nearly two decades, has opened up about the emotional struggles she faced when she stopped playing the sport.

In an interview with Zoom, she said that waking up in the morning after her last match at the Dubai Open felt "empty."

"Honestly, the first day I woke up after my last match. I felt so empty. I knew I wanted to retire, but that day, it felt like a part of me had died," Sania said.

She explained that for more than 30 years, her life revolved around tennis, and leaving it behind felt like burying a part of herself.

Sania recalled the difficulty of adjusting to life without a structured schedule. "I woke up and realized there was no t...