DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - WTA Levies Penalties Against Dubai Tournament

**Sniliabiz** · 02-20-2009, 10:44 PM

Happy Shahar and Anna-Lena are being compensated, still I'd prefer to have the tournament axed because of this mess. I still believe that Dubai does not deserve a premier tennis event within it's borders because of this mess against Shahar. The big question is, will the tournament and the country's governemnt follow these new rules?

I agree with the penalties, but I think it is unfair to hold a long-term grudge against Dubai or the UAE as a country. For example, just because there are tennis-related cases like Indian Wells, or non-tennis related cases like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, does not mean that all tennis tournaments in the US should be canceled or that it is unethical for players to be in the country practicing. The UAE tournament violated the WTA rules by not securing visas and they got punished. Fair enough. But I have also read reports that the tournament organizers treat the players really well, organize humanitarian events, make them get out and see the city of Dubai, etc. Also, the low attendance during the day session might just have been because of the heat; the seats were nearly all packed for the Venus-Serena match today, as far as I could see. So, I feel kind of uncomfortable with completely black-listing a place because of one event.

02-20-2009, 10:44 PM	#14
Sniliabiz Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 415 Senior Member	Happy Shahar and Anna-Lena are being compensated, still I'd prefer to have the tournament axed because of this mess. I still believe that Dubai does not deserve a premier tennis event within it's borders because of this mess against Shahar. The big question is, will the tournament and the country's governemnt follow these new rules? I agree with the penalties, but I think it is unfair to hold a long-term grudge against Dubai or the UAE as a country. For example, just because there are tennis-related cases like Indian Wells, or non-tennis related cases like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, does not mean that all tennis tournaments in the US should be canceled or that it is unethical for players to be in the country practicing. The UAE tournament violated the WTA rules by not securing visas and they got punished. Fair enough. But I have also read reports that the tournament organizers treat the players really well, organize humanitarian events, make them get out and see the city of Dubai, etc. Also, the low attendance during the day session might just have been because of the heat; the seats were nearly all packed for the Venus-Serena match today, as far as I could see. So, I feel kind of uncomfortable with completely black-listing a place because of one event.
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