Explained: Reasons behind women's tennis ending China boycott over Peng Shuai

WTA, the women’s professional tennis tour, ended their suspension of tournaments in China that started in 2021 over concerns about safety of Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai. The decision to return to China in September comes even as the tour’s two key requests remain unfulfilled: a chance to meet Shuai, and secondly, a thorough, transparent investigation of her sexual assault accusations against a high-ranking government official. Who is Peng Shuai? Peng Shuai is a former pro player who reached No 1 in the WTA doubles rankings in 2014 and made it as high as No 14 in singles in 2011. In doubles, Peng won Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014. In singles, her best Grand Slam showing was a run to the semi-finals at the 2014 US Open. In total, she won 23 WTA doubles titles and two in singles; she also represented China at three Summer Olympics. During her career, she earned more than $9.5 million. Now 37, Peng last competed in Doha, Qatar in February 2020. What did Peng Shuai claim before allegedly disappearing? In a social media post in November 2021, Peng claimed she was forced to have sex by former vice premier Zhang Gaoli . Thereafter, she dropped out of public view alongside her public post. News of China’s first #MeToo case to reach the political realm didn’t get reported by the local media and online discussion of it was highly censored. “Where is Peng Shuai?” became a trending topic on social media as concern and outrage grew. Peng Shuai allegations and whereabouts: Everything we know so far Peng tried to go back on her accusations, including in a controlled interview at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. She also made some orchestrated appearances during those Winter Games. But there have not been reports of public sightings of her since. When did WTA stop holding tournaments in China and why? WTA, based in Florida, pulled its tournaments from China in December 2021. The tour communicated it would not return until someone could meet with Peng Shuai and until her allegations were thoroughly investigated. Neither of those things have happened. Earlier, about 10 women’s pro tennis tournaments were held each year in China, generating millions of dollars in revenue for the WTA. What changed for the WTA in this reversal? [caption id=“attachment_10182251” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] File image of Steve Simon. AFP[/caption] WTA released a statement which said: “In 2021, when Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai bravely came forward, the WTA took a stance and suspended its operation of events in China out of concern for her safety and the safety of our players and staff.” “After 16 months of suspended tennis competition in China and sustained efforts at achieving our original requests, the situation has shown no sign of changing.” “We have concluded we will never fully secure those goals, and it will be our players and tournaments who ultimately will be paying an extraordinary price for their sacrifices. “For these reasons, the WTA is lifting its suspension of the operation of tournaments in the People’s Republic of China and will resume tournaments in China this September.” Everything we know about Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s whereabouts The WTA added: “We have not been able to achieve everything we set out for, but we have been in touch with people close to Peng and are assured she is living safely with her family in Beijing. “We also have received assurances that WTA players and staff operating in China will be safe and protected while in the country. The WTA takes this commitment seriously and will hold all parties responsible.” In an interview with The Associated Press, WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said, “what has changed with it is that we have received assurances from people who are close to her, that we’ve been in contact with, that she is safe and living with her family in Beijing. … First and foremost, her safety is the first priority, and we do have assurances that is the case.” How have the female players reacted to WTA’s return to China? On his part, Simon said there were discussions and feedback with players and tournament officials but differing views are expected. “We’ve got players from over 80 countries, so there’s no shortage of different views of the world and positions on issues and topics we have,” he said. “Through reach-out to us, as well as our reaching out to athletes to find out their positions, the great majority of the athletes were supportive and wanted to see a return back to the region and felt it was time to go back. … There’s certainly some that didn’t agree but the great majority did.” [caption id=“attachment_12454822” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Caroline Garcia won the Wuhan Open in 2017. AFP File photo[/caption] World No 5 Caroline Garcia said she understood why the WTA was making this “very important” return to China. “The ATP and the ITF (International Tennis Federation) were already going back, and women’s tennis is following,” she told the BBC . “In the past we have had some huge tournaments over there and I think it is an important swing for us in our calendar and I’m looking forward to it.” What about the ATP and ITF? Men’s tennis body, the ATP Tour, and global tennis organisation, the ITF, had already committed themselves to tournaments in China. Chengdu, Zhuhai, Shanghai and Beijing are due to hold ATP tournaments. Earlier this month, ITF, which conducts tournaments below the elite level, listed a June tournament in Luzhour . ITF’s last full season in China was in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “The ITF anticipates a resumption of tournament activity within China for each of the ITF Tours later this year,” the ITF said in a statement. The decision comes after COVID restrictions have been relaxed in the Asian nation. When will next WTA tournament be played in China? There’s no official schedule change yet. If things go as planned, play should begin in China in September after the final major of the season at the US Open in New York. It will also include the WTA Finals in Shenzhen - a tournament that had been moved to Guadalajara and Forth Worth in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .