- Tennis is an amazing sport.

Tennis is 360 degrees like this.

I have to catch the ball here, here, here, - here, here, here.

- Like everything, yeah.

- Just like with football, we use our feet and our hands.

I have trouble with sports where I can't use my hands and throw and all that stuff.

- I want more action, you said.

- I love action, yeah.

This is why I wanted to see you and talk to you 'cause I wanted to see what you're thinking and see you now and what your vision is for the future.

- You know, right now I feel so happy and blessed to have the platform where I am today.

To be honest, when I started playing flag football, I never imagined this could happen one day, never.

- [Billie Jean] Never?

- [Diana] Never!

- I remember since I was little, - Mm-hmm.

- I, uh, got to understand and know the power of "No."

- Oh, 'cause that's hard for women.

- Yes, like "No, you cannot play that because it's meant to be a sport for men."

"No, you're too young."

"No, you're a Latina.

This is not a sport for Latina women."

- "You're too small," right?

- "You're too small.

” “No, you're too small."

"No, you cannot be the captain of your team because you're the youngest of the team."

"No, you're not gonna be able to handle the pressure."

"No, no, no, no."

I like to see that as a positive thing to overcome because I feel that once you understand the power of no and the impact that it can have on you, (snapping fingers) that's magic.

- So somebody said no to you, I'll show 'em.

That's what I did too.

I'd get the "No" and I'd go, oh, (groaning) oh, gimme the ball, I'm ready.

It's like, let's go, right?

- Now I'm gonna show you how that's not true.

And I feel that that's how it changed and I feel that that's why this misconception of flag football being a men's sport.

- Well, that's most sports.

- Remain in time for a long time.

Even when I started, I started when I was really young at the age of eight and my-- - [Billie Jean] With-- your dad got you, right?

- [Diana] Yes, because of my dad, - [Billie] Yay daddy!

- he used to play tackle, yes.

Like, I am so happy he did.

- [Billie] I'd only been on the court twice and I knew what I wanted.

I wanna be number one in the world.

But I told my mom at seven, I go, "Mommy, mommy, I'm gonna do something great with my life."

And she goes, "That's fine, you just finish those dishes," 'Cause we didn't have a dishwasher.

So mom washed, I dried the dishes (chuckling).

So like I'm going, "No mommy, you don't get it.

I'm gonna do something great with my life, I just know it."

And she goes, "That's fine, dear, but you've got homework.

You've got this."

That's where she was great.

She kept my brother and me really grounded.

I knew I wanted to be number one, but when I was 12, I was just daydreaming and noticing and thinking about tennis in that everybody wore white shoes, white clothes, played with white balls.

And everybody who played was white.

And I go, "Where's everybody else?"

- Mm-hmm.

- So that was the day I decided I was gonna fight for equality the rest of my life.

- How hard it was for you during that journey?

Do you think at some point, you had to take the decision to take away from your career as an athlete in sports in order to pursue, like, this fight?

- Would it hurt my own career, you mean?

- Yes.

- Absolutely.

Yeah, I knew I was going to have less titles.

I didn't care.

I know this is what I wanted, this was more important.

This is the bigger picture.

Do I wanna just think about my own little career?

Or do I wanna think about the sport?

And the future of the sport and have it keep growing forever and more and more people connect to it, and then that connects people 'cause relationships are everything.

Like you said, all your teammates, all these people, they-- you connect with them forever.

You'll see them 50 years from now, you had this experience together.

- Yes, that connection.

Yes.

- That nobody else has.

And you guys will connect so fast.

I mean, I haven't seen a player for 30 years.

I go, "Hi, remember..." We go, "Remember this and remember that catch or that serve at 30, the match point and you saved it," or whatever.

You know, you have these memories, they're so much fun.

- [Diana] I agree with you.

- You know, I played a Mexican my very first match at Wimbledon, Yola Ramírez.

She was seeded fifth and I lost to her.

It took two days to play the match.

And I was in France last year and somebody was sitting down there, I'm looking down at this person, I go, "I think that's Yola," and then she started to talk.

(claps) "Yola!"

She goes, boom, "Ah, Billie Juana, oh my God!"

Anyway, we're like, oh, I'm so happy!

I hadn't seen her since 1960, like '1 or '2.

- Wow!

I feel that sports allowed us to connect with people in a, - Totally.

- in a...

I don't know, in a magical way.

It is a connection from the heart.

It is a connection from the spirit.

- [Billie Jean] Totally.

- Coming from something you both love.

So, I feel you, it is... - It's just, all of us.

It's just all of our being, you know, inside and out.

It's just, it's the best.

Oh, I know what I wanna ask you.

I love asking athletes this.

- Okay.

- What's your strength?

- Resilience.

- Resilience?

- Yes.

- What about the way you play, though?

What's the one thing, one strength?

- On the field?

- Yeah, on the field.

- (sighing) I could say my speed and creativity.

You can tell when I am at the field, (chuckling) I am still the smallest.

And I-- sometimes I go against this, I could say, like stereotypes.

- [Billie] Right.

- So for me, I think my superpower is to be creative and to break this... - [Billie] Okay.

- [Diana] mindset.

- So inter-- every athlete had such interesting responses to that.

- What would you think was yours?

- Oh, I know, it was my speed, my brain, and my backhand.

And I had great lateral movement.

I was mentally and emotionally very strong.

I like it, I like pressure.

The reason I like pressure... and I, and Ran-- my brother Randy, he, you know, is a relief pitcher, that's all pressure.

You come out, they either want you to close it, save it, whatever.

And we figured it out that my parents never asked us if we won because parents do that all the time.

- Yes.

- Because my brother and I didn't have that is the reason I think we love pressure.

We perceive it differently than most kids, I think.

Why we're very intense.

Intensity was really good too.

And my dad would just say, "All right, stop, stop."

My mother would say, "You guys, just calm down."

We'll say, "Well, we lost, I should have-- (groaning).

Should do this, I should've done that."

And then my dad would always go, "Did you try your best?"

I said, "Well, of course, I tried my best!"

He goes, "Guess what?

That's good enough, let go."