Wow that's ridicolous, could that be the shortest fully played match in history?

^JJ will still be 3 in ranking next week, she'll be 194 points ahead of Dementieva. Dementieva is cursed and will never go better than 4. At least her fans say so

^JJ will still be 3 in ranking next week, she'll be 194 points ahead of Dementieva. Dementieva is cursed and will never go better than 4. At least her fans say so

I must have made a mistake when making the ranks !
I think that she can go higher ! I think she's a far more consistent player now while Jankovic is not !
Maybe IW and Miami take care of that .

The Dubai tournament was forced to pay US$ 300.000 because of denying Shahar Peer the Visa by the WTA-Tour.

Although thats the highest fine ever, that amount doesn't hurt Dubai IMO. But it is better then nothing.

EDIT: Andy Roddick will not compete next week in Dubai, due to that incident. A really admirably decision I think.

I would have loved to see also the top women players to boycot the tournament.

it's always about money
I am a bit disappointed about this fine. Denying Peer to play because of her nationality is a scandalous offense against her, cause the international conflicts aren't her fault. And all that comes to the WTA's mind is requiring money for some charity stuff. As you said, it won't hurt them.

And I don't think that it is the task of some other single players to boycot the tournament, because it would mean losing important ranking points. They put themselves into the same disadvantage as Peer. So a solution was to be found that doesn't harm players but only the tournament which is at least the case.

I think this is incredibly admirable by roddick! The fact that he is putting aside his career and activly showing that what the UAE did will not be tolarated and he will not stand for this injustice.

Is there any news on when Maria Sharapova is coming back?

Maria is expected to return in time for Indian Wells or Miami. Her return has been put back several times already; she was expected to return in time for Dubai, for example.
She is on the entry list for both the BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) and the Sony Ericsson Open (Miami), but I would think she will just return in time for the latter in order to avoid a four-week stint on the tour since both events carry mandatory status. If she plays Indian Wells then she would be expected to play Miami, and four weeks in a row on a players' return is fairly tough going.

Off topic: Venus and Serena Williams still refuse to play at Indian Wells (despite the mandatory status of the tournament this season) due to previous racial incidents.