Shahar Peer, the Israeli tennis player ranked 48th in the world in women's singles, has been denied a visa to travel to the United Arab Emirates for a tournament there that began February 15th. Peer is said to be "very, very disappointed" with the decision not to give her a visa, which effectively keeps her out of the Dubai Tennis Championships, an event on the Sony Ericsson tour.

The Women's Tennis Association, the governing body for the sport, said that it was also disappointed with the decision, noting that WTA policy said that a player should not be barred from taking part in a tournament for which she had qualified.

The WTA said it would allow the Dubai tournament to go on as scheduled, but that it might deny Dubai membership in the WTA for next year. This would mean that no WTA events that count in the world standings could be held in Dubai.

According to a CNN sports reporter, had Shahar Peer been given a visa she would have been "the first Israeli athlete to participate in a professional sporting event in the UAE." CNN Sports correspondent Pedro Pinto said.

Shahar Peer (official Web site: www.shaharpeer.co.il/ ) has played in a tournament in the Arab world before; she competed at the Doha, Qatar tournament last year.

Among the players competing in the Dubai tournament this year are Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Dinara Safina.