Israeli Tennis Player Peer Denied Visa for Dubai Tournament

Peer, ranked 48th by the WTA, the governing body of women’s tennis, had received assurances from tour officials and the sponsors of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship that she would get a visa, her brother Shlomi Peer said in a phone interview. Last night he was told otherwise by the WTA and tournament organizers, he said.

“Shahar is very disappointed both personally and professionally,” her brother said. “Last year she received a visa from Qatar to play in the Doha tournament, the first Israeli to do so, and she thought the same would happen in Dubai,” he said.

Israel and the U.A.E. have no diplomatic relations and Israelis are normally denied entry there unless they hold citizenship in other countries. In 2003, Israeli Finance Ministry officials were given special permission to attend International Monetary Fund meetings in Dubai under Israeli passports.