Tennis is such a globalized sport that its professionals often defy national and geographical boundaries – born in one country, living in another, training in a third... and playing in no end of them.

But that international brew can also leave players trying to going about their careers within a potent mix of nationality, religion and geopolitics.

Perhaps no one has had to deal with that reality more than Sania Mirza, but the past couple of months have been volatile even by her standards.

At her hometown of Hyderabad in December, she and a camera crew were ejected from the grounds of a mosque in her native Hyderabad for filming a commercial without permission – Mirza said she hadn’t been aware of the permission issue, but the incident received tremendous publicity and finally required a public apology from Mirza to avoid a police investigation.

Not long after that had blown over, Mirza  was photographed courtside at Hopman Cup with her bare feet up near an Indian flag. That created yet another scandal of bizarre proportions, which included a lawsuit with a potential jail term being filed against her.

You might think nothing would faze someone who’s previously had a fatwa issued against her for wearing short skirts, but it frustrated Mirza so much that she impulsively thought about walking away. For a minute, anyway.

“I think a lot of thoughts went through my head in the last couple of weeks. One of the thoughts was that, but I wouldn't say it was serious enough that I am going to quit right now.”

She pointed out the irony of the suit. “I love my country, I wouldn't be playing Hopman Cup otherwise.”

Though initially worried that the situation would affect her during matches, she’s been able to come through two tricky opponents in the first two rounds – former top-tenner Iroda Tulyaganova and the up-and-coming Timea Bacsinkszky. But next up is Venus Williams, which will be a very different level.

Mirza has always struggled with the paradox of her mid-level status on tour and huge fame within India (elsewhere she’s famous only for being famous in India). Now, there’s just a reluctant resignation.

“It’s part of my job. Well, it’s not part of my job, but...”

Later: “It’s not part of being a superstar. It’s part of being an Indian superstar.”

Other players have been in similar situations – think Paradorn Schrichaphan – but hers is particularly acute for several reasons: the sheer size of India’s population, the discrepancy between the historical popularity of pro tennis there (high) and its number of pro players (tiny), its relative lack of female athletes overall, and finally, and the fact that she’s part of a religious minority in a country whose main fault line runs through religion.

If she’s looking for philosophical advice in unlikely places, this is what Andy Roddick had to say about living under a national microscope: “That's not an easy position to be in. But I think I've always kind of taken the approach that when it is such a big market – I promise you [you get] as many opportunities because of that market as [you] have to face tough times from that market.  It's a balancing act. You can't really accept one without knowing that you're going to have to deal with the other side of it, as well.”

Sometimes, the problem is not being too recognized but not being recognized at all.

A relatively new quandry thrown up by the sport’s opening frontiers is Israeli players playing burgeoning Middle East events which don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. After a period of uncertainty about whether it was possible in practice, both Shahar Peer and Tzipora Obziler both say the WTA has made the necessary arrangements for them to play – Peer in Doha, and Obziler in Dubai qualifying.

Their participation inevitably has some political relevance, though both have shied away from anything overt. “I'm really comfortable about what I chose, and like I said, I really want to go play tennis,” said Peer. “It's a very nice country, and I'll just go there and have fun and do what I need to do.”

Obziler, an almost unheard-of example of a player enjoying her best results at 34, also said there were no politics involved in her decision. “I don’t have time for this. Maybe in the future, when I’m done with the tennis, I’ll do things to be heard,” she said. “For me it’s just another tournament. The reason I’m going there is because fits in the schedule. It’s a pity to miss this kind of tournament, it’s a Tier I.”

She’s not worried about her safety – “the tournament has to prepare everything. It’s their responsibility and I trust them” – and thinks she’ll be able to play and explore like the rest of the field. “I’m not sure how it’s going to be with the security, but when you get there you’re just like one of the others who are there. It’s not like it’s on my forehand saying I’m Israeli.”

A new name has recently joined the ranks of the Israeli team – former Russian Evgenia Linetskaya, who was off the tour for a couple of years after a serious incident of physical abuse and then some injuries. She faded in her first round match, but has a protected ranking till July. She said the switch is one she had wanted to make for long time, having liked the country when visiting it some years ago.

It’s fairly unusual for a player to change nationalities in the middle of a career – though recent Australian transplants Jamila Gajdosova and Anastasia Rodionova might indicate that it will become more common. But plenty of players informally juggle connections to more than one country.

There were two French transnationals battling it out in the first round here when Aravane Rezai took out Tatiana Golovin in three up-and-down sets.

Golovin was born in Russia, plays for France and lives in Florida.

Rezai was born in France to Iranian parents, and still maintains strong ties to her homeland. She returned to Iran to train during the offseason last year but opted for Patrick Mouratoglou's academy (of Marcos Baghdatis and Jan Silva fame) this year. “It was difficult to train there because it was snowing and the conditions were very different than here,” she said.“And I’m with the family [relatives] and when you’re with the family you’re not very focused on your tennis.”

After spending some time training at altitude and taking advantage of the academy’s full team of coaches, trainers, physiotherapists and nutrionists to work on her fitness, she was able to repeatedly get in the first strike against Golovin, particularly with her more steadfast backhand.

Afterwards, she was asked, “Was the win important because this is a Grand Slam or because it came against a French player?”

Because it came in a Grand Slam, she said emphatically.

The question was asked because Rezai has clashed repeatedly with the French tennis federation over her father’s behaviour and has been banned from using the facilities at Roland Garros for two years.

That creates an interesting situation for both Rezai and French officials. With Marion Bartoli also refusing to play Fed Cup over her father, and Golovin and Amelie Mauresmo oft-injured, Rezai’s services could be valuable to the French team.

Perhaps unexpectedly, she says she’d never refuse to play if selected. It would be particularly ironic given that her ban came after her father got in a fight with French Fed Cup captain Georges Goven “You play for your country, not the captain,” she said.

Even for tennis players, the world isn’t yet flat. But its topography gets ever more interesting.