Dubai tennis chief accepts WTA ruling

Dubai: The Tournament director of the annual Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships has reiterated the need to put sports above all else.

"Ultimately, this is a triumph for sports and for tennis in particular," Salah Tahlak told Gulf News after landing in Dubai from Madrid late on Sunday.

The organisers of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships were instructed by the WTA to pay a $300,000 (Dh1.1 million) fine for their refusal to grant Israeli player Shahar Peer a visa to play here earlier this year.

Tahlak was in Madrid last weekend to attend the meeting of the WTA Tour Board, who were expected to take a decision on the matter following an appeal by the Dubai Tennis Championships.

"We believe we had a fair hearing from the WTA Tour Board in Madrid. We accept the findings of the board and we accept their decision in this matter. We did put forward our case, but the board decided to uphold their earlier decision and go ahead with the imposition of the fine on us," Tahlak stated.

Under the latest decision, ratified on Sunday, tournament organisers will have to grant Israeli players entry visas at least eight weeks in advance for future events.

"Ultimately, I think the sport had to triumph. Whatever we have done, it has [been] carried out keeping Dubai and the UAE in mind. We are a vibrant society, so diverse and cosmopolitan, and we want people from all over the world to make Dubai a destination," Tahlak stated.

Peer was scheduled to play in the main draw of the singles and doubles along with German partner Anna-Lena Groenefeld. At that time, Peer had released a statement through the WTA stating that she was "confident that the Tour will make sure" she would not be further harmed in the short and long term.

Larry Scott, chairman and CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour had then reiterated the resolve of the international sports body to be fair under all circumstances.

"The Tour is reviewing appropriate remedies for Ms Peer, and also will review appropriate future actions with regard to the future of the Dubai tournament," Scott had then promised.

Following Sunday's solution to the entire situation, Tahlak was confidently looking forward to yet another successful championships here next year.

"All this is over now. Next year, we will be back to normal and we can expect a truly fantastic tournament as always," promised the tournament director.