Sania Mirza confirms divorce amidst Shoaib Malik's second marriage announcement

A day after Pakistani cricketer Sarfaraz Khan announced his second marriage to actor Sana Javed, Sania Mirza's family reported on Sunday that the tennis legend from India and Shoaib Malik have split up.

Their breakup 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 Mirza, who tied the knot in April 2010 in Hyderabad, the Indian athlete's birthplace.

Malik recently unfollowed Mirza, 37, on Instagram, which fueled suspicions about their marital problems. This gave the rumours more traction.

Izaan, their five-year-old son, presently resides with Mirza.

In a recent Instagram post, Mirza 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." Celebrated as one of India's greatest tennis players, Sania announced her retirement from professional tennis last year after an illustrious career spanning two decades.

She won six Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles events.