When India and Pakistan’s relations were not stable, the environment here was not so favourable for neighbouring countries. That time Sania Mirza took a bold step to fall for a Pakistani nationalist back in the days, keeping in mind the political issues between both countries. It created a stir all across the nation with many backlashing the excellent Tennis player. But as they say, love wins it all and so did her relationship with Shoaib Malik, which eventually took over all the hate and criticism. They were the paparazzi’s favourite couple. Their social media accounts are flooded with their cute romantic love story. But there is a saying: love never guarantees permanency.
Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik officially got divorced in a private space. Some close friends of the couple hinted to the media that they have decided to part ways already and only formalities are now left before their paperwork is done. Sania is currently in Dubai while Malik is in Pakistan, working for Sports during the T20 World Cup 2022 as an expert. Sania recently uploaded a picture on Instagram which gave fire to separation rumours. At first, they seemed to be rumours but now a close friend of the couple has revealed that the couple will be divorced soon.
At the same time, another reporter quoted a team member of Shoaib Malik’s management department that the divorce is on. “Yes, they are officially divorced now. I can’t disclose more than that but can confirm that they have separated,” InsideSport quoted a person who was part of Malik’s management team in Pakistan.
As most know, Sania first got engaged to Shoaib back in 2009 but the wedding was called off soon after. The couple reconciled and finally tied the knot in April 2010 in a Hyderabadi Muslim wedding ceremony followed by a Walima ceremony in Sialkot. They’re blessed with a baby boy that was welcomed into the world in October 2018. It was around 5 days ago that Sania Mirza shared a picture with her baby boy Izhaan and captioned the post, “The moments that get me through the hardest days.” The cryptic post along with many other hints speculates that there’s trouble in her married life with Shoaib Malik.
Sania Mirza is living separately but co-parenting their baby boy. While the actual reasons behind their big step remain unknown, the gossip mill has it that Shoaib Malik cheated on his wife. On the other hand, Shoaib Malik also recently shared a post on his Instagram on the occasion of Izhaan’s birthday and seemingly confirmed the split. “When you were born, we became more humble and life meant something special to us. We may not be together and meeting every day but Baba is always thinking about you and your smile every single second. May Allah give you everything you ask for @izhaan.mirzamalik Baba & Mama love you,” he wrote.
The two sports personas who fell in love with each other and got married in 2010 hit rock bottom. Mirza is an offensive baseliner with a very powerful groundstroke and is known for setting up good attacks with the sheer velocity of her groundstrokes. Her main strength is her forehand, as well as her volleying skills. Her power game has drawn comparisons to Romanian legend Ilie Năstase. She is also a great returner of serve to find many return winners during matches. Mirza goes for winners, which means she goes from many angles.
Sania was referred to as “Pakistan’s daughter-in-law” and unfit to be a representative of an Indian state after she was appointed the Telangana state’s brand ambassador. The comment referred to Mirza’s husband, Shoaib Malik being a Pakistani cricketer. Telangana chief minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao presented Mirza with ₹1 crore on two occasions. She was summoned by the tax department for non-payment of service tax on the payment received, however, she responded that the ₹1 crore given was a training incentive, and not towards becoming the state’s brand ambassador.
In July 2016, Mirza published an autobiography titled Ace Against Odds chronicling her journey to the top. The book also lists some of her memorable encounters on and off the court and talks about the people and relationships that have contributed to Mirza’s growth as a person and a sportsperson.
