Uncertainty over status of Chinese tennis star set to impact major sporting events

Uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts and wellbeing of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai is impacting international sport with the potential that the Women’s Tennis Association may halt events in the nation.

Peng, a two-time grand slam doubles champion, had not been seen since making sexual assault allegations on social media against a former senior Chinese Communist Party official on 2nd November.

With her social media post quickly deleted, speculation about her status caused speculation in the tennis world, with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) expressing its concern, along with many of the world’s top players including Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.

These concerns were not dispelled by a widely ridiculed statement posted by Chinese state media claiming to be from the 35-year-old.

Released as of last Thursday morning, the statement purporting to be from Peng, advised “the allegation of sexual assault, is not true. I am not missing, nor am I unsafe. I’ve just been resting at home and everything is fine. Thank you for caring about me.”

With Peng (pictured) assumed not to be the author of the statement, Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Chief Executive, Steve Simon responded soon afterwards by saying the post had only heightened his fears for Peng’s safety, commenting “the WTA and the rest of the world need independent and verifiable proof that she is safe. I have repeatedly tried to reach her via numerous forms of communication, to no avail.

“Peng Shuai must be allowed to speak freely, without coercion or intimidation from any source. Her allegation of sexual assault must be respected, investigated with full transparency and without censorship.”

Demanding a full investigation, Simon also indicated that he was considering pulling WTA tournaments out of China.

With the WTA set to stage 10 tournaments in China in 2022, Simon told TIME at the WTA Finals in Mexico “should we find that what we are asking for cannot happen or will not happen, we are prepared to no longer do business within the region and move forward.”

As of Sunday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a statement after IOC President Thomas Bach held a video call with three-time Olympian.

The IOC account said Peng had "thanked the IOC for its concern about her wellbeing", adding “she explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time.”

"She prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now," it said. "Nevertheless, she will continue to be involved in tennis."

The IOC statement also included an image of the video call taking place, with Peng seen smiling to the camera.

However, the WTA said in a statement that the video and communication "don't alleviate or address the WTA's concern about her wellbeing and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion".

It added “this video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.”

The sporting rights organisation, Global Athlete, criticised what it called the IOC's "nonchalant" approach to Peng's disappearance and accused it of displaying "an abhorrent indifference to sexual violence and the well-being of female athletes."

It added “the release pretends that Peng never made sexual assault allegations and has not been missing for more than two weeks. The statements make the IOC complicit in the Chinese authority's malicious propaganda and lack of care for basic human rights and justice China has been a strong focus for the WTA’s plans for expansion over the past decade, hosting nine tournaments in the 2019 season with a total of US$30.4 million prize money.

Shenzhen hosted the season-ending finals for WTA in 2019 with a prize pool of $14 million.

The WTA was planning on Shenzhen as the host location for the Finals from 2022 to 2030.