WTA suspends tournaments in China due to Peng Shuai situation
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) said on Wednesday (1) that it has decided to suspend tournaments in China because of concerns about the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, formerly number one in the world in the doubles ranking.
"I don't see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has apparently been pressured to contradict his allegation of sexual assault," WTA President Steve Simon said in a statement .
"With the full support of the WTA Board of Directors, I am announcing the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong."
— wta (@WTA) December 1, 2021
“Given the current state of affairs, I'm also very concerned about the risks that all our players and employees could face if we held events in China in 2022,” he added.
Peng's whereabouts became a matter of international concern after she posted a message on social media alleging that former Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli had sexually assaulted her.
On November 21, IOC President Thomas Bach participated in a 30-minute video call with Peng (who supporters say may be under political duress), during which she told him she was safe and with her family and friends.
But Simon, who said the decision to suspend tournaments in China had the full support of the WTA board, is not convinced that all is well with Peng.
“While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation,” he said.
“The WTA was clear on what is needed here, and we repeated our call for a full and transparent [uncensored] investigation into the Peng Shuai sexual assault charge,” he concluded.
Text translated using artificial intelligence.
