Defending champions Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis crashed out of the Indian Wells Masters after suffering a shock straight sets defeat in the women’s doubles event at Indian Wells. The top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair suffered a 7-6(7), 6-4 defeat at the hands of American-Russian duo of Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva in the second round contest that lasted one hour and 32 minutes. This was Mirza and Hingis’ first straight-sets loss since the summer of 2015. The Indo-Swiss pair’s 41-match winning streak came to a halt after they were beaten in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open last month.

Did You Know?

• Sania Mirza was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on 15 November 1986, to Imran Mirza, a builder, and his wife Naseema, who worked in a printing business.
• Mirza received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the MGR Educational and Research Institute University in Chennai on 11 December 2008.
• Sania Mirza was appointed as the UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia during the event held to mark the International Day To End Violence Against Women on 25 November 2013.
• Sania Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She was trained by her father.
• Currently, Mirza is the brand ambassador for the Indian state of Telangana.