Mirza to team up with Flipkens in last minute change

Sania Mirza will team up with Kirsten Flipkens at Wimbledon in the women’s doubles after her usual partner was forced to pull out of the event through injury.

The Indian queen, who has won six Grand Slam titles, links up with Belgian Flipkins as Kazakhstan’s Yaroslova Shvedova has an ankle problem.

‘Of course, it is disappointing to lose a regular doubles partner just three days before the entry deadline of a major but there is not much that can be done about it,’ Mirza, 30, said.

‘Flipkens is ranked 48th in the world and we will certainly not be seeded very high at Wimbledon.

‘But tennis for me is all about giving it my best shot and we will try to defy the odds and give a good account of ourselves.’

The former world number one won the SW19 title with Martina Hingis in 2015. Mirza will also compete in the mixed doubles, where a win would complete a career Grand Slam.

Before the event, Mirza has been speaking out against gender discrimination in society at large.

‘Gender violence doesn’t lie in extremities. Rather it happens everywhere in the world. We have to fight for equal prize money even today. When I won Wimbledon in 2015 and came back to India, I was asked when I was planning to have kids and settle down since I had been married for five years.’