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Shahar Peer shakes hands with an Emirati Official AP/Photo Kamran Jebreili
One player who is not in Surprise this week playing on the stadium court in front of fans, is Israeli Shahar Peer. Instead, She has been in Dubai, UAE, forced to play on the outside courts doing what she loves to do, play tennis.
Shahar is the first Israeli woman player to ever play in the United Arab Emirates. She tried to play the event last year and was not given a visa to play. The Dubai tournament received a $300,000 fine and a strong threat by the WTA that Dubai would be taken off the schedule if Shahar was not issued a visa.
Unfortunately in todays world, ignorance among some nations is as high as it ever has been. The political mess and hatred in the Middle East has made it tough for athletes like Shahar to compete globally. Where ever she plays, she is faced with scrutiny and some protesters. Shahar has had to face this most of her career and will probably face this for time to come. She is proving to herself what she already convincingly knows, she is a world class tennis professional. All of this just because she is an Israeli.
While players freely walk among the fans at the Surprise Tennis & Racket Complex this week, Shahar is surrounded by security guards with every move she makes. While the top seeds play on the stadium court, Shahar plays on the center court with fewer fans. Many of the players on tour have voice their opinion on Shahars dilemma. Venus Williams said, "I cannot even speak of what it must be like [for her]," "She played so well this week."
Williams was asked by the tournament to play their semi-final match on the center court not the stadium. Williams did so gracefully. The outside court will only have around 1,000 spectators versus the 5,000 in the stadium.
Williams got the best of Peer today, winning easily 6-1,6-4 to move into the finals where she will play Victoria Azarenka, naturally on stadium court. For Peer, this tournament has helped build her confidence,proved to her that she is a world class tennis player, able to take on not just her opponents but the political ignorance that she has nothing to do with. She is just a player and just wants to play tennis.
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