I quit singles to prolong my career, says Sania Mirza

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza on Saturday said the three surgeries she underwent in five years forced her to switch to doubles in a bid to prolong her career for a few more seasons.

"I have had three surgeries and to comeback from those surgeries has been extremely difficult," Mirza, who has won 16 WTA titles, said at an event in Mumbai.

"That definitely is the reason why I decided to switch to doubles. I have been fortunate to play eight years of singles and doubles at the highest level in my career. Do I miss singles? Yes. But do I want to stop playing tennis in one year and play singles and doubles? No. I love tennis too much and I want to play for a few more years," she added.

The 26-year-old Hyderabadi has been roped in as the brand ambassador for the fitness vertical of the leisure infrastructure company 'The Country Club'.

"Fitness is defined differently by everyone but for me the most important thing is being healthy. As tennis players, what we do is not the healthiest thing. We almost abuse our bodies. We try to be fit and avoid injuries. Our fitness (as professional athletes) is different," she explained.

Asked about her diet plan, the top ranked Indian woman player said, "It depends if you are in season or out of season. When you are playing, you eat a lot of carbs. We load up on carbs because you are playing and you need that energy. When we are training in off season, we try to cut down on the carbs and try to eat more protein."

"I eat in moderation and don't believe in going extreme, either way. I binge on cake once in a while because I don't think that you should deprive yourself of that as long as you run 25 minutes instead of 15 minutes that day," she added.