Tennis-Mirza to boycott Indian tournaments

NEW DELHI, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Sania Mirza will boycott all Indian tournaments, including next month's WTA Bangalore Open, after being dragged into a series of controversies at home in the last two months.

The 21-year-old Asian number one said she had been advised by her manager and mixed doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi to skip the tournament starting on March 3.

"At this moment, I have been advised by my manager not to play," she told reporters on Monday in her hometown of Hyderabad.

Mirza, who emerged a youth icon since becoming the first Indian to win a WTA tour event in 2005, would have been the big draw alongside American sisters Serena and Venus Williams.

But in the face of mounting criticism, she said she had thought about ending her playing career.

The world number 29 has been summoned by a court in the central city of Bhopal after allegedly showing disrespect to the Indian flag, punishable by a jail sentence if proved, during the Hopman Cup in Perth last month.

She was also forced to apologise to mosque officials in her hometown for shooting an advert on its premises in December after a complaint of trespass was filed against her to the police.

Mirza has also faced opposition from religious Muslim groups for playing in a normal tennis attire.

"A lot has been happening in the last few months, everytime I have played in India there has been some kind of problem so we just thought it was better not to play at this point," said Mirza, who reached the Australian Open women's singles third round and the mixed doubles final with Bhupathi.