‘Facilities are a handicap’

Emphasising that tennis had always been a tough sport for women, Sania Mirza has said a dearth of coaches and lack of facilities in the country was why youngsters were showing less interest in the sport. “Tennis was never a popular sport here. Due to lack of coaches, programmes and infrastructure, people, particularly girls, hardly take up tennis,” Sania said in Raipur. She, however, felt that “sports academies will help in grooming the young talent to reach to the top place.” She also said that people should not always expect a win from sportspersons and should learn to take their defeats in a positive way. “Every player cannot win all the tournaments. That doesn’t mean one should look at them in a negative way,” the 26-year-old said. To a query, she said that playing at Wimbledon was her “biggest dream”, which she had accomplished. And now that she aspires to win the Wimbeldon doubles and mixed doubles events. She added that had not she been a tennis player, she would have become an interior decorator.