Shahar Peer is the top Israeli tennis player. Numero Uno. She is ranked #48 in the world.

I am no tennis maven, but I was never overly impressed with Peer as a tennis player. She must be good to make it to 48 in the world, but I never liked her style of play. I always thought she had a weak serve and not enough strength to ever make it into the really top level. I had a friend who was a big fan of hers, and he used to tell me how great she is, which led me to watch her play a bit and take the other side. I began by "tcheppering" him how she will never really be great, and I guess that formed my opinion.

Anyways, Peer is being left out of a tournament now. The ay before she was meant to leave for Dubai for a tournament, they told her she cannot come because they are rejecting her visa.

Dubai has an official policy of not allowing Israelis in to the country. It is a load of crock, because I know plenty of Israelis who go there all the time for business, and they tell me that the place is crawling with Israelis. As long as it is quiet and not public, Dubai turns a blind eye. I guess an international tennis tournament is too public, so they have to reject her visa.

I think the other tennis players, and the tournament organizers, should cancel the whole thing and leave Dubai with an embarrassing situation and a hefty fine. I don't think it is right that they are letting Peer be left out while they continue to play.

Yes, a few players and officials spoke up about how wrong it is, but that is purely lip service. They should all ban the tourney until Dubai allows her in.

That being said, I think that if they do let her in, she will probably lose her first match and that will be the end of it. Aside from her not being all that good (as "not all that good" as #48 could be), she is having a lousy year, losing match after match and not seriously contending in anything yet. Dubai would even possibly be smart letting her in and letting her play poor performance, thus embarrassing Israel in the process...