On Wednesday (December 1), the Women’s Professional Tennis Tour announced the suspension of all games held in China. Its chairman said that he expressed “serious doubts” about the safety of Chinese player Peng Shuai, who accused a top Communist Party leader of sexual assault.
WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said that this move could cost the Women’s Tennis Association hundreds of millions of dollars and was “fully supported” by the Tour’s board of directors.
It also quickly received the support of the sport’s top echelon, including the men’s world number one Novak Djokovic and the women’s tour founder Billy Jan King.
Simon said in a statement: “I announce the immediate suspension of all WTA events held in China, including Hong Kong.”
Simon said: “By conscience, when Peng Shuai was not allowed to communicate freely and seemed to be forced to refute her allegations of sexual assault, I didn’t understand how I could ask our athletes to compete there.”
“In view of the current situation, I am also very worried about the risks that all our players and staff may face if we hold a tournament in China in 2022.”
Before Covid-19 forces them to relocate or cancel, WTA plans to host 11 events in China this year. The timetable for 2022 has not yet been determined.
In 2019, China hosted 10 events with a total prize money of more than 30 million U.S. dollars.
Peng is a 35-year-old Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion. She has not appeared for more than two weeks after she accused Zhang Gaoli, a former deputy prime minister in her 70s, of forcing her to have sex for several years. NS. Intermittent relationship.
Peng’s accusation against Zhang is the first time that China’s #MeToo movement has touched the highest level of the ruling Communist Party.
Her allegations were published on November 2 and were quickly removed from the Chinese Internet. She has not appeared in public for several weeks.
Later, Peng was photographed during a tennis match in Beijing and had a video call with Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee on November 21.
Beijing is scheduled to host the Winter Olympics in February because the country’s human rights record calls for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics.
“Although we now know where Peng is, I seriously doubt whether she is free and safe from censorship, coercion and intimidation,” Simon said.
Simon reiterated the WTA’s call for a “full and transparent investigation-no review” of Peng’s allegations of sexual assault.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday night, he called this “something we can’t avoid.”
“If we give up on this, we are basically telling the world that it is okay not to treat sexual assault with the required respect and seriousness, because it is difficult to do,” he said.
‘Bold and brave’
Djokovic, who participated in the Davis Cup final in Madrid, supported what he called a “very bold and very brave” move.
“I fully support the WTA’s position because we don’t have enough information about Peng Shuai and her health,” Djokovic said, adding that her health is “critical to the tennis world.”
Kim, the 12-time Grand Slam singles champion who founded the tour in 1973, also expressed his appreciation for this move.
“The WTA is on the right side of history in supporting our players,” King wrote on Twitter. “This is another reason why women’s tennis is leading the way in women’s sports.”
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) stated that they “understand the WTA’s decision.”
“The WTA has firmly adhered to its values from the beginning, and we understand their decision. We will continue to monitor the situation closely,” the ITF said in a statement to AFP.
As the controversy fermented, the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and the United Kingdom all demanded proof of Peng’s whereabouts and safety.
Simon said that he was “grateful for the international support the WTA has received because of its status.”
“In order to further protect Peng and many other women around the world, people are speaking out more urgently than ever before,” he said.
On CNN, Simon also talked about Peng herself and how she might feel as the incident progressed, and pointed out that despite repeated attempts, he still could not contact her directly.
“We hope she feels that none of this is her fault, and we are very proud of her,” he said.
