WTA announces suspension of China and Hong Kong tournaments over Peng Shuai concerns

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is suspending tournaments in China and Hong Kong over concerns it has over about the safety of the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai.

Following weeks of concerns expressed by the WTA and widely reported speculation over the safety of safety of the former doubles world number one, WTA Chairman, Steve Simon, announced the decision overnight.

Simon stated “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.

“In good conscience, I don’t see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault. Given the current state of affairs, I am also greatly concerned about the risks that all of our players and staff could face if we were to hold events in China in 2022.”

The move marked marks a major shift in how sports associations have dealt with China as the country becomes more assertive in its way of dealing with both domestic and international affairs. In the past, international sports organisations have rapidly backed down from rows with Chinese authorities over fear of losing access to the nations’ massive sports market.

The move was welcomed by world tennis figures who have been campaigning for Peng’s safety.

Retired star Billie Jean King wrote “I applaud Steve Simon and the WTA leadership for taking a strong stand on defending human rights in China and around the world.

“The WTA is on the right side of history in supporting our players. This is another reason why women’s tennis is the leader in women’s sports.”

Novak Djokovic, World No 1 and cofounder of the Professional Tennis Players Association, said he fully supported the WTA’s stance, and everyone including the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) was “asking for clarity on what is going on”.

He told reporters “we don’t have enough information and I think it’s a very bold, very courageous stance from WTA.”

Another former star, Martina Navratilova said it was a “brave stance”. “Now - what say you, IOC [International Olympic Committee] ?!?” she tweeted. “IOC - so far I can barely hear you!!!”

The WTA also found support on Chinese social media, where the topic has been subject to extraordinary levels of censorship, with bans on all related names and words including ‘tennis’.

However, initially supportive comments were soon deleted from social media.

Early last month, 35-year-old Peng (pictured), a former doubles world No 1, used a post on Chinese social media website, Weibo to accuse a Chinese Government official of having coerced her into sex . Her lengthy post was quickly deleted by the censors, and Peng disappeared from public for more than two weeks as the WTA and colleagues said they were unable to reach her.

On 17th November, China’s state-owned English-language news channel CGTN in a tweet alleged that Peng had written to Simon and reported that she had been “resting at home and everything is fine”. In the post, Peng also allegedly said that the news in Simon’s previous release, including the allegations of sexual assault, “is not true”.

However, the tweet instead sparked further suspicion and transformed a #MeToo allegation into high-stakes international diplomacy. Fellow tennis stars including Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams have both tweeted in solidarity with Peng under the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai while calls from human rights organisations to boycott the forthcoming Beijing Winter Olympics have been on the rise.

Chinese state-affiliated media last month also released a series of videos and images attempting to show Peng’s regular activity inside China while International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach held a video call with Peng on 21st November.

While the IOC reported that Peng was “doing fine” and “appears to be relaxed”, many dismissed the conversation as a “publicity stunt” and accused the IOC of attempting to appease China.

The WTA has made huge investments into the Chinese market, has not held events inside the country since the Covid pandemic.