Update Israeli Tennis Pro Shahar Peer denied entry to Dubai

The Tennis Channel will not televise the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this week to protest the United Arab Emirates’ refusal to grant an entry visa to the Israeli player Shahar Peer. Peer was scheduled to play Anna Chakvetadze in the first round

“This is an easy decision to come by, based on what is right and wrong,” Ken Solomon, the chairman and chief executive of the network, said Monday from Utah.

The WTA “knew it was an issue, but we made it clear that she was going to be in the draw and we wanted to be optimistic that she would get the visa,” Scott said. “Then they waited until the 11th hour to deny it.”

 

The Dubai tournament began on Sunday and is scheduled to end on Saturday, February 21.

 The organization then considered canceling the tournament, but avoided that course of action at Peer's request: "She and her family didn’t want all the players to be harmed because of one,” Scott said. “We talked to our players and told them that something terrible has happened here, but every single one would be punished if we were to cancel.”

Peer has also gained the support of her fellow tennis players, who already arrived in Dubai: “All the players support Shahar,” American tennis champion Venus Williams told the New York Times. “We are all athletes, and we stand for tennis.”

UAE denies Israeli tennis player entrance visa, despite already having been included in singles, doubles matches in Dubai Tennis Championships. WTA chairman 'deeply dissappointed by decision, will review actions with regard to future of Dubai tournament'

Sa'ar Haas

Published:

02.15.09, 12:22 / Israel Culture

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Shahar Peer, who became the first Israeli to play tennis in Qatar and the entire Persian Gulf region last year, hoped to make history again in the United Arab Emirates by taking part in the Dubai Tennis Championships this week, but was denied the chance to do so by the hosting country.