My child's last name will be Mirza-Malik: Sania Mirza to WION

"A dreamer, believer, and doer — even against all odds” is how she describes herself. The golden girl of tennis, Sania Mirza, is idolized by millions -- both for her on-court aces and her off-court charisma.

Sharing insights into her extraordinary journey during WION's Knowledge Seminar at Goafest 2018, the legend emphasised on the importance of failure and stubbornness to achieve success.

Sania expressed her appreciation for how India has made considerable progress in battling the scrutiny that female sportspersons are subjected to, while admitting that there's still a long way to go. "Even today girls need to give a justification as to why they want to play. It is difficult enough to be an athlete, but we as girls need to fight a battle on the court and off it".

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In a candid conversation with WION's Molly Gambhir, Sania also shared how she has grown up believing that daughters are no different from sons. She went on to say, "My name is Sania Mirza, I didn't change my name post-marriage. In fact, let me tell you a secret today. My husband and I have spoken about it and we have decided that whenever we have a child, the child's last name will be Mirza-Malik. Shoaib actually wants a daughter."

On the contentious issue of the gender pay gap in sport, the tennis superstar minced no words. "Why should there be a difference? It's a question of 'why not' have equality rather than 'why'. Because they play best of 5 sets? We'll play 5 sets, no problem!", she exclaimed while expressing her frustration over arguments presented by those against equal prize-money for male and female athletes.

Drawing parallels between being a global ambassador who's showcased brand India to the world and WION's journey of becoming India's window to the world, Sania shared how relentless pursuit always pays off when aiming to break barriers.

From playing on cow dung-laden courts to winning Wimbledon, Sania is an inspiration who believes "the trick is to keep going and pick yourself up each time they think you can't". She recalls, "When I started playing, people would ask my parents questions like - what, you think she will become Martina Hingis? And then she and I went on to achieve a 41-match winning streak together!"

On setting up the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy — another masterstroke from the phenomenon — Sania said she hopes the country does not have to wait too long to bring forth a world champion.