Sania Mirza, a star Indian tennis player, and her Chinese companion Shuai Zhang won their first title of the season in the women’s doubles final of the Ostrava Open on Sunday, defeating Kaitlyn Christian and Erin Routliffe.
In a one-hour and four-minute summit match, the second-seeded Indo-Chinese combination upset the third-seeded pair of American Christian and New Zealander Routliffe 6-3 6-2.
Sania and Zhang, both 34 years old, had upset the Japanese pair 6-2 7-5 in the WTA 500 quarterfinals. Sania reached her second final of the season, following a runner-up finish with Christina Mchale in the WTA 250 Cleveland event in the United States last month.
Sania’s second title on the circuit since returning from maternity leave. Sania had won the Hobart International title with Nadiia Kichenok in January 2020. Zhang, by the way, was the Indian’s opposition in the final.
Mirza is a former world No. 1 in doubles and has won six Grand Slam titles in doubles – three women’s and three mixed.
