Sania Mirza, India’s tennis icon, recently opened up about the challenges of being a single parent following her divorce from Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. The couple, who married in a traditional Hyderabadi Muslim wedding in 2010, had a son, Izhaan Mirza Malik, born after they announced Sania’s first pregnancy in April 2018. In 2024, it was revealed that the couple had divorced months earlier, bringing an end to their 14-year marriage.
In a conversation with filmmaker Karan Johar, Sania shared how demanding single parenting can be, especially while balancing a busy professional life. “For me, single parenting is hard, and also because we are working and we do so many different things,” she said.
Karan noted that being a single parent could also be liberating, but admitted that Sania’s situation was more challenging due to its cross-border nature. “Yours is cross border as well. You have a situation which is even more daunting and overwhelming,” he said.
Sania revealed that one of her biggest challenges is leaving her son in Dubai when she has to travel to India for work. “I find it challenging to leave him because I live in Dubai and I travel to India. That’s the biggest challenge for me to stay away for a period of one week. That for me, is the hardest part, anything else I’m fine with,” she explained.
She also spoke about the loneliness that comes with single parenting. “Amount of times that I have skipped dinner because I didn’t want to eat alone. I think it helped me lose weight. I don’t feel like eating dinner. I would rather just watch something and sleep,” she said.
Sania Mirza is one of India’s most successful tennis players. During her career, she won six major titles, including three in women’s doubles and three in mixed doubles.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
