WTA Fines Dubai $300,000 For Pe'er Ban

The WTA levied a $300,000 fine on the organizers of the Dubai Tennis Championships, more than twice as much as the previous record fine, after Shahar Pe'er was denied a visa from Dubai. The WTA also took steps to compensate Pe'er and her doubles partner for lost income and tour points as a result of being banned from the tournament. Pe'er will receive $44,250 from the fine and 130 ranking points, equivalent to what she earned in the same week last year. Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany, her doubles partner, will receive $7,950, roughly equal to her average weekly doubles earnings last year. The balance of the fine will go to a charity selected by the WTA and Pe'er.

The WTA felt justified in fining the tournament organizers in part due to their association with Dubai Duty Free, a company owned by the Dubai government. In addition, the tournament is: "Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai."

In announcing the fine, WTA CEO Larry Scott told the AP: "I think what we hope with this decision is that we're sending a very clear message that we're not going to tolerate discrimination of any kind. We wanted to send a clear signal that this is the most egregious action the world of tennis has seen in recent history. And we felt that it should be at least double what the previous highest penalty was."

The WTA is taking all the right steps so far. With the granting of a visa to Andy Ram for next week's ATP tournament, it is clear that Dubai is getting the message. Hopefully, there will not be a repeat of this affair next year and there will be no need to remove this tournament from Dubai permanently. However, it cannot stop with tennis. Israel is systematically excluded from competition in Arab states. It is forced to compete in European competitions instead of Asian because Arab states refused to allow it to compete in their groups. These boycotts must end. The Olympic movement must end its tacit acceptance of this discrimination and stand up for what is right and fair and just. It's long past time to end anti-Semitism in world sport.

Cross-posted with SportsBiz - The Business of Sports Illuminated

WTA Fines Dubai $300,000 For Pe'er Ban

The WTA levied a $300,000 fine on the organizers of the Dubai Tennis Championships, more than twice as much as the previous record fine, after Shahar Pe'er was denied a visa from Dubai. The WTA also took steps to compensate Pe'er and her doubles partner for lost income and tour points as a result of being banned from the tournament. Pe'er will receive $44,250 from the fine and 130 ranking points, equivalent to what she earned in the same week last year. Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany, her doubles partner, will receive $7,950, roughly equal to her average weekly doubles earnings last year. The balance of the fine will go to a charity selected by the WTA and Pe'er.

The WTA felt justified in fining the tournament organizers in part due to their association with Dubai Duty Free, a company owned by the Dubai government. In addition, the tournament is: "Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai."

In announcing the fine, WTA CEO Larry Scott told the AP: "I think what we hope with this decision is that we're sending a very clear message that we're not going to tolerate discrimination of any kind. We wanted to send a clear signal that this is the most egregious action the world of tennis has seen in recent history. And we felt that it should be at least double what the previous highest penalty was."

The WTA is taking all the right steps so far. With the granting of a visa to Andy Ram for next week's ATP tournament, it is clear that Dubai is getting the message. Hopefully, there will not be a repeat of this affair next year and there will be no need to remove this tournament from Dubai permanently. However, it cannot stop with tennis. Israel is systematically excluded from competition in Arab states. It is forced to compete in European competitions instead of Asian because Arab states refused to allow it to compete in their groups. These boycotts must end. The Olympic movement must end its tacit acceptance of this discrimination and stand up for what is right and fair and just. It's long past time to end anti-Semitism in world sport.

Dubai Will Grant Israeli Men's Tennis Player a Visa

In the continuing saga of Dubai's blatant discriminatory treatment of Jewish athletes, comes word that the emirate is going to grant a visa to Israeli Andy Ram allowing him to play in next week's ATP Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Apparently, following US pressure and a realization that perhaps they made a public relations blunder, Dubai officials have changed their mind. It may also be an attempt to salvage both tennis tournaments, as there are serious moves afoot to remove the WTA event from the next year's calendar.

In related news, the Sweden-Israel Davis Cup match to be played March6-8, in Malmo, Sweden, will be played before an empty stadium. The Malmo recreational committee, citing security concerns, decided to ban spectators from the stadium. The International Tennis Federation, in a typically feckless statement, reacted to the ban: "“very unfortunate” and “not in the long-term interests of the Davis Cup," but took no action. The ITF deferred to the local authhority. Again, imagine the outcry, if this had been done in Israel.

Cross-posted with SportsBiz - The Business of Sports Illuminated

Tennis Channel Won't Televise Dubai Open

The Tennis Channel is refusing to televise the Barclays Duabi Tennis Championships this weekend to protest the emirate's refusal to grant a visa to Israeli tennis star Shahar Pe'er to allow her to play in the tournament. According to Ken Solomon, chairman and CEO of the network:

"This is an easy decision to come by, based on what is right and wrong. Sports are about merit, absent of background, class, race, creed, color or religion. They are simply about talent. This is a classic case, not about what country did what to another country. If the state of Israel were barring a citizen of an Arab nation, we would have made the same."

It's good to see the Tennis Channel stand up for Pe'er. You can bet that had the roles been reversed and it was Israel that had refused a visa to an Arab tennis player for participation in a tournament in Israel, it would have been front page news around the world. There would have been denunciations coming from world capitals around the world and calls for immediate sessions of the UN Security Council to enforce an economic boycott on Israel for the injustice against humanity. The outcries would have been led by America's staunchest European allies, well, maybe not the UK. What is most interesting here is the deafening silence which with this affair has been greeted outside the sporting world.

Cross-posted with SportsBiz - The Business of Sports Illuminated

Dubai Tarnishes Golden Sports Hopes; Denies Israeli Tennis Star Visa

The WTA has been gambling since 2001 when it decided to stage a tournament in the United Arab Emirates. This year it came up snake eyes when Dubai barred Israeli tennis star Shahar Pe'er from competing in this week's Barclay's Dubai Tennis Championships. In the months leading up to the tournament, Pe'er had received assurances that she would be allowed to play. Last year, she became the first Israeli athlete to play in a Gulf state when she played in a WTA event in Qatar. She was informed on Saturday that she would not be granted a visa to enter Dubai to participate in the tournament.

The WTA was apparently taken by surprise as well, since it had included Pe'er in the draw. To its credit, WTA Chairman and CEO Larry Scott released a statement that was strongly supportive of Pe'er and called into question the future of the Dubai tournament:

"We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the UAE denying Shahar Pe'er a visa that would permit her to enter the country to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships. Ms. Pe'er has earned the right to play in the tournament and it is regrettable that the UAE is denying her this right.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour believes very strongly, and has a clear rule and policy, that no host country should deny a player the right to compete at a tournament for which she has qualified by ranking,

The Tour is reviewing appropriate remedies for Ms. Pe'er and also will review appropriate future actions with regard to the future of the Dubai tournament."

“All the players support Shahar,” American tennis champion Venus Williams told the New York Times. “We are all athletes, and we stand for tennis.”

It's likely now that Dubai has limited not only its ability to host WTA events but future events in other sports as well. While Israel does not have nearly as many friends in other international governing bodies, perhaps the precedent has been set, and no barring of athletes merely on the ground of their Israeli passport will be permitted if events are awarded to Dubai in the future. It is also likely that in the continuing contest between rivals Qatar and Dubai, Qatar has just won a major international sporting victory.

Cross-posted from SportsBiz-The Business of Sports Illuminated

Russia Tops Israel; Makes Fed Cup Semis

Behind Maria Sharapova, Russia blasted by Israel in the reverse singles to take their quarterfinal Fed Cup match staged in Israel today. Sharapova had little trouble with Israel's number one player, Shahar Pe'er, winning 6-1, 6-1. Pe'er could not muster any comeback against the Aussie Open champion similar to the one she staged yesterday. In the other singles match, Anna Chakvetadze beat Tzipi Obziler 6-0, 6-4 to clinch the match for Russia.

Israel, Russia 1-1 in Fed Cup Play

Israel and Russia split opening day singles matches in Fed Cup quarterfinal play today at the Ramat Hasharon Tennis Center. Maria Sharapova, playing in her first ever Fed Cup match, overwhelmed Tzipi Obziler 6-0, 6-4, while Shahar Pe'er rallied to defeat Dinara Safina 0-6, 6-2, 6-2. Reverse singles will be played on Sunday followed by the doubles match.

The sellout Israeli crowd was not your typical tennis crowd. At one point in Sharapova's match, the crowd began imitating Sharapova's grunts each time the Aussie Open champ hit the ball. It didn't seem to faze Sharapova however:

"I don't mind it," Sharapova said. "It brings out the best in me. I love the atmosphere, the crowd and their craziness. It is what we live for. I got really anxious and excited as I was close to finishing my first Fed Cup match.

Peer Sizzles Down Under

Israeli tennis sensation Shahar Peer has crashed into the Austaralian Open quarterfinals after springing an upset on #3 seed Svetlana Kuztnetsova today 6-4, 6-2. Peer, the 16 seed, will have a tough task in the quarters however as she will take on the comeback queen, Serena Williams. No matter the outcome, Peer has already achieved more than she probably thought she would when the draw was first announced and, regardless of her success against Serena, will almost assuredly, come out of Australia as the highest ranking Israeli tennis player ever.

Peer went into Australia ranked 17th on the WTA circuit, but, due to her quarterfinal finish, at least, will almost certainly rise to at least 14th. That would surpass the ranking of 15 achieved by Anna Smashnova in 2003. Should Shahar beat Serena and move on to the semis, she could move up past 14th and begin to have designs on the top 10, rarefied air indeed for an Israeli tennis player. She would also make history as the first Israeli to make the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament.

Serena Williams entered the tournament ranked 81st in the world after being off for the better part of a year due to a knee injury but she has been her electrifying old self in her recent Australian matches and presents a formidable obstacle for Peer to overcome if she is to become the Cinderella of Oz.

UPDATE: Peer's dream crashed against Serena's comeback as Williams stormed back from a opening set defeat to snatch victory away in a third set tie break 3-6, 6-2, 8-6.