Top sports trends 2019: Sania Mirza's inspirational fitness journey post giving birth

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza who was on a maternity break due to birth of son Izhaan is all set to make her comeback. The 33-year old confirmed that she will be back to competitive tennis at Hobart International in January 2020, two years after taking a maternity break. Mirza, who last played at China Open in October 2017, will team up with Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenok, the current world number 38. Sania, married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, gave birth to their first son, Izhaan, in October last year.

READ: Sania Mirza set for return at Hobart International, says 'in her best shape'

READ: Sania Mirza reveals comeback date, tournament participation after two-year maternity break

Sania Mirza's fitness journey

Having lost almost 22kgs in five months, Sania stated that being healthy makes her feel better. When Sania Mirza is not on the court, she makes sure to train for at least 4-5 hours in a day. Sania's day starts with physical training at 6 am. After her breakfast, Sania gets to the tennis court by 8 am and practices for good 2-3 hours. After a few hours of rest, she resumes her training at 2 in the afternoon and wraps the session around 5 pm. Later till 7 pm, she starts with her physical training, which includes different kinds of gym workouts (4-5 times a week), agility, and endurance and other training.

Training Routine

Sania starts her training with a warm-up, which is a mix of 20-25 minutes of running and some core exercises to enhance strength and speed training. She also focuses on heavy workouts and plyometrics, which is a form of heavy jumping to acquire strength. At a press conference a few years ago, Sania stated that when she was about 11-12 years of age she used to train for 6-7 hours a day.

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Sania Mirza reveals comeback date

Sania Mirza will be finally making her comeback on the tennis court with the Hobart International in January 2020. She also revealed that she will team up with Ukraine’s Nadiia Kichenok, the current world number 38. For the Australian Open, Sania said that she will partner American Rajeev Ram for the mixed doubles event.

In the press conference, Sania said that she is playing in Hobart, and then the Australian Open. She is also planning to play a tournament in Mumbai, which is a USD 25,000 (ITF women event) next month. However, she is 50-50 about it due to a wrist issue. "There are a lot of changes when you have a baby. Your routine and sleep pattern changes. I (now) feel fit, my body is where it used to be before I had the baby. It was only six-seven months ago, where I thought about it as a realistic possibility," she told PTI.  

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