Story image for sania mirza from ESPN co uk Sania Mirza set to miss 2018 Australian Open due to knee injury.......////////..........///////////

India's Sania Mirza is set to miss next month's Australian Open due to a knee injury, which may require surgery.

Sania is suffering from a condition called jumper's knee in her right leg. It is a painful condition caused by inflammation or small tears in the tendon of the patella.

Sania won the 2016 Australian Open women's doubles title with Martina Hingis before announcing their split in August. She did not win a title in 2017, but made the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open, her best finish at a Grand Slam all year.

"It's kind of serious. Surgery is probably on the cards. I will be out for a few months for sure," Sania said. "I'm okay to walk but it's painful when I have to change directions, when you actually go on to play, that's the biggest problem. I can run straight but not able to do plyometrics stuff.

"My doctors told me to take a couple of months off and then see how it feels before it gets into a process of either surgery or injections. When I saw them, the pain was not less after two months.

"Now we have to take a call. It's a little bit up in the air, I can't tell you a definitive next. So I will be missing the Australian Open for sure. It won't be before a couple of months at least."

Asked about Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games next year, she said, "Hopefully I will be okay for that. It's one year, it's a long time. Anything can happen. Hopefully I'll be healthy and able to play again."