Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 29 (ANI): Farah Khan lauded her close friend and Indian tennis player Sania Mirza, who finished her Grand Slam career on a high as a runner-up in the mixed doubles competition at the Australian Open.

Taking to Instagram, Farah dropped the emotional still of Sania from the post-match interview.

Sharing the picture, she wrote, Ur a Star my friend."Several celebs heaped praise on Sania and shared her emotional speech on their respective social media handle.

Actor Kajol wrote, "You have always made India and women everywhere look up to you.. and you always will."Abhishek Bachchan expressed his pride for the Sania. He tweeted, "To a glorious career, @MirzaSania! You've always made India proudbeen an inspiration for many of us. Best wishes for a fun-filledrelaxing retirement. You'll be missed, but never forgotten".

Sania Mirza won two Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian Open. She won the Australian Open women's doubles title with Martina Hingis in 2016 and the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009.

The 2017 French Open mixed doubles championship that Rohan Bopanna won with Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada remains his solitary Grand Slam triumph.

The Indian team defeated defending Wimbledon winners Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski in three sets in the Australian Open 2023 semifinals.

"My professional career started in Melbourne. I couldn't think of a better arena to finish my [Grand Slam] career at," stated an emotional Sania Mirza in the post-match interview.

WTA Doubles World No. 1 for 91 weeks, Mirza finished second at the last Grand Slam competition of her career. She had said earlier this month that the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February will mark the conclusion of her professional tennis career. (ANI)