Stung by series of controversies surrounding her, tennis sensation Sania Mirza has decided to boycott all Indian tournaments, including next month`s WTA Bangalore Open, India’s only WTA event. Sania, who is managed by Globosport, owned by her friend, mentor and doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi, was apparently adviced by her manager to take this decision.

The Asian no 1 women player opted out of next month`s Bangalore Open citing petty controversies that have been dogging her for quite some time.

"I am not playing in Bangalore Open. I have been advised by my manager not to play (there) because a lot has been happening in the past few months," Sania said.

"Every time I have played in India, there has been some kind of problem. So we just thought it was better not to play this time," she added.

Ever since her breakthrough 2005 season, Sania has been battling controversies ranging from her on court attire being dubbed indecent by Islamic fundamentalists to the recent flag controversy during the Hopman cup in December last year.

In fact, the off court furors had shaken the world number 29 to such an extent that she had contemplated giving up the game altogether a few weeks before last month`s Australian Open.

"A lot has happened and I thought about a lot of things. Here I am giving everything for the country and to have to deal with this kind of attention just as I was preparing for a slam was bothersome", Sania said.

Sania said she always faced some problem or the other whenever she has played in India.

"I felt better not to play. Yes, it was a passing thought I had if all I`m doing was worth it. It does take its toll because it is not easy to deal with that kind of pressure", she said.

"It`s not normal for any youngster to block such pressure all the time and keep performing," she said.

Stating that she was yet to recover from her hamstring injury, Sania said "I had an MRI scan done and it`s a 5 cm tear of the adductor muscle but the injury is healing, at least there is not much pain. But I`ve decided against playing the Bangalore open."

"Moreover, playing in India is not as important to me as playing for my country. I`ve never shirked the responsibility of playing for my country even when I was injured," she added.

Ace tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi, whose company `Globosport` manages Sania`s career, said the decision to pull out of the Bangalore open was a "one-off" instance so that her career was not affected by these controversies.

"It is not a permanent decision. It is only for this year that she will not play in India", Bhupathi, the winner of a number of grand slam titles, said.

"She has really been pained by all that has happened in the last few months. It is really unfortunate. We want that she should have the right frame of mind when playing in tournaments", he said.

"She has long term goals and we hope that these things stop cropping up. There are lots of emotions involved. She has bounced back really well and had a great Australian open. Sooner or later, I am sure we will see her play in India", he said.

Bhupathi, who plays mixed doubles event with Sania, said that his advise to her was to stay focused and not get distracted by all these off-field developments.

The Williams sisters - Venus and Serena - will be the main attraction in the USD 600,000 Bangalore open to be held from March 3 to 9.

Austria`s Sybille Bammer was another player among the top 10 who will be participating in the tier-II event.