Dropping a bombshell, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza today said she was pulling out of next month’s WTA Bangalore Open to avoid being dragged into fresh controversies.

She said she had been advised by her manager and mixed doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi to skip the tournament starting March 3.

“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 told reporters in Hyderabad.

“Everytime 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 said.

Sania, Asia No.1 and ranked 29 in the world, would have been the big draw alongside American sisters Serena and Venus Williams.

Bhupathi later said it was not a permanent decision but Sania was upset with what had happened recently.

Sania had said recently that she had thought about ending her playing career. She had been taken to court for allegedly showing disrespect to the Indian flag and forced to apologise to mosque officials in Hyderabad for shooting an advertisement on its premises.

She also faced opposition from religious Muslim groups for playing in normal tennis attire.