New Delhi - India's tennis star Sania Mirza has said she will stop playing in domestic tournaments because she is tired of being dragged into trivial controversies, media reports said Tuesday. Mirza, ranked world number 29, was recently embroiled in a controversy involving disrespect to the national flag and has been targeted by radical Muslim groups.
"Every time I play in India, there is a problem," the 21-year-old tennis star was quoted by the Times of India newspaper as saying.
Talking to reporters at her home in the southern city of Hyderabad on Monday, Mirza said she would stay away from next month's 600,000-dollar WTA Bangalore Open.
"Considering all that, I thought it would be better not to play at Bangalore ... In fact, I feel it would be better if I don't play in the country for some time," she said.
The Asian number 1 player said she was advised by her sports management company not to participate in domestic tournaments.
Mirza has emerged as one of the youth icons in India and is the second most popular sports person after the cricketers ever since she became the first Indian woman to win an international tennis event.
She won the WTA tour's newcomer of the year award in 2005 and has been the only Indian to reach the fourth round of a grand slam event. But her rise to stardom has been dogged by one controversy after another.
Sania told reporters that she had even thought of ending her career and retiring after she was accused of disrespecting the Indian flag during a tournament in Australia last month.
Mirza was photographed with her feet resting on a table next to an Indian flag. Though Mirza said the pose was accidental, an individual filed a complaint with an Indian court under the Prevention of Insult to the National Honour Act.
In December 2007, Mirza had to apologize to angry mosque officials in Hyderabad for the shooting of an advertisement on the premises of the city's Mecca mosque.
Mirza also received hate mail after she was accused of supporting pre-marital sex. Later, she said she was misquoted in remarks at a press conference.
Earlier, in September 2005, Muslim clerics had issued a fatwa against Mirza for playing in tennis skirts, saying the attire was contrary to what was permitted by Islam.
The organizers of the Bangalore open were disappointed at finding out that Mirza would skip the tournament, where she would have been top draw alongside the US's Serena and Venus Williams.
"All I can say is that the only real way to answer these controversies is to step out and play in front of the fans," S Raju, tournament director, told the NDTV network.
