NEW DELHI: A day after Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik announced his marriage to actor Sana Javed, Sania Mirza's family confirmed on Sunday that the tennis legend from India and Shoaib Malik have split up.
Their break-up signifies the dissolution of a well-known partnership that sparked a lot of interest among sports fans in the two nations.
On Saturday, Malik, 41, shared a photo of himself and Sana from their wedding on social media.
"Sania has always kept her personal life away from the public eye. However, today the need has arisen for her to share that Shoaib and she have been divorced for a few months now. She wishes Shoaib well for his new journey ahead!," read the statement issued by Mirza's family.
"At this sensitive period of her life, we would like to request all fans and well-wishers to refrain from indulging in any speculation and to respect her need for privacy," the statement added.
The disclosure coincides with persistent conjecture and gossip regarding the tense rapport between Malik and Sania, who tied the knot in April 2010 in Hyderabad, the Indian athlete's hometown.
Malik recently unfollowed Sania, 37, on Instagram, which fueled rumors about their marital problems. This gave the rumors more traction.
Izaan, their five-year-old son, presently resides with Sania.
In a recent Instagram post, Sania made reference to personal difficulties.
"Marriage is hard, Divorce is hard. Choose your hard. Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard, Choose your hard. being in debt is hard. Being financially disciplined is hard. Choose your hard," she posted in an instagram story.
"Communication is hard. No communicating is hard. Life will never be easy. I will always be hard. But we can choose our hard. Pick wisely."
Sania, hailed as one of India's finest tennis players, declared her retirement from the professional game last year following a remarkable 20-year career.
In doubles and mixed doubles competitions, she achieved six Grand Slam victories.
(With PTI inputs)
