New Delhi: Multiple grand slam champion and India's leading female tennis star Sania Mirza joined many leading sportspersons from across the nation to greet her fans and followers on the holy festival of Eid-ul-Fitr but conceded that fervour and spirit surrounding the holy festival doesn't feel the same 'due to countless reasons'. Eid was celebrated in most part of the country on Monday, marking the end of the holy and auspicious month of Ramadan.


Sania appealed to everyone to pray for the citizens who have been left suffering due to the severe crisis brought about by coronavirus pandemic and also expressed her despair and sadness for the families of the deceased who recently lost their lives in a plane crash in Karachi, Pakistan.

"This Eid, it just doesn't feel the same for countless reasons! This Eid, let's think a little more about the needy, a little more about the less fortunate, a little more about the ones fighting for their lives and about the ones that have lost their lives due to a pandemic, plane crash or anything else. Pray for them and their families," Sania tweeted.

"This Eid, pray for humanity, pray for health, for peace, for less hate and much more love, for togetherness again and for a world where we aren't scared to hug each other without wondering if we would make each other sick," she wrote in another tweet.


Sania also sent out an important social distancing message and harped on the fact that staying indoors at home is the best thing to do in these unprecedented times.


"This Eid, there is a lot to be thankful and grateful for. This Eid, let's all come together while staying apart and wish for a better world and mercy from our creator in these hard times that the world is going through. I'm staying home this Eid with and for my loved ones, please do the same. Eid Mubarak," she tweeted.

33-year-old Sania made her comeback to the international tennis circuit early this year after giving birth to her first child. She clinched the women's doubles title  the Hobart International in January before playing an integral role in helping India seal a historic playoff spot in the Fed Cup.

Her stunning comeback has, however, been paused by the ongoing freeze in the tennis calendar due to the pandemic. Sania was set to participate at Indian Wells which was scheduled to take place in March 2020 but was eventually postponed.