Middle East politics has intersected with international sports at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Top-ranked Israeli woman Shahar Peer was denied a visa last week to play at the tournament in retaliation for her country’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. Whether you agree or not about the policy, the rules of the WTA bar tournaments from denying visas based on politics. The Tennis Channel refused to broadcast the event and the WTA threatened to take the tournament off of its 2010 calendar. Apparently, the UAE got the message because it issued a a visa to Andy Ram, Israel’s top male player for this week’s men’s tournament.

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