A letter from Sania Mirza's dad

Tennis star Sania Mirza's withdrawal from the WTA Bangalore Open raised a furore this week. Was she, as some alleged, irritated at not being paid enough appearance money? Did being caught up in controversies really affect her? Or was her decision to boycott all Indian tournaments merely a publicity stunt?

Sania's dad Imran Mirza sets the record straight in this heartfelt missive to the Indian Tennis Blog.

"Sania's bypassing the Bangalore Open has nothing to do with injury. The young girl has gone through hell for the last two months and was close to a breakdown. Indian society can be very cruel to a young, good-looking girl, who breaks all barriers in terms of achievements and is not afraid to speak her mind.

"We, in India, seem to feel threatened with a woman like that and do everything to ensure that she is brought down to earth. Just to put the record straight, even if someone offers her a million dollars today to play in India in an INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT like the Bangalore Open, she is NOT going to play for at least a few months and maybe more because her mental health and comfort level is more important to us than anything else in the world.

"The unprecedented and mindless furore that we have witnessed in the last few days only justifies Sania's stand in not playing in India at this point of time.

"If we had based our decisions on what people who have no clue about ground realities say, Sania would never have reached the heights where she has. She is right now recuperating (physically and mentally) and we will ensure that she gets back to her fighting best within a short span of time. If at any point she is selected for a team tournament held here to REPRESENT INDIA, she will play in India at all costs.

"She has had to pay a very heavy price for being a pioneer in her chosen profession and for being a very successful woman but God is most definitely on her side and we are confident that despite the hostilities from misguided groups and individuals and certain sections of the media, who have no clue what it takes to succeed in a truly global sport like tennis, she'll end up the winner. Inshallah!"