Tennis stars hail WTA’s stand against China as concern grows over Peng Shuai's safety

Washington: Tennis stars threw their support behind the WTA’s move to suspend its tournaments in China over concern for Peng Shuai, as calls grew Thursday for other sports organisations to take action. The women’s tennis tour made the decision over what its chairman called enduring “serious doubts” about the safety of Chinese player Peng, who accused a former Communist Party leader of sexual assault. Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) chair and CEO Steve Simon reiterated his calls for China to conduct “a full and transparent investigation — without censorship” into Peng’s claim that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli “forced” her into sex. The WTA’s move to suspend its tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, won the immediate backing of some of the biggest names in tennis, among them men’s number one Novak Djokovic and women’s tour founder Billie Jean King. It could potentially cost the WTA hundreds of millions of dollars because China is one of its biggest markets. Djokovic called the WTA's stance “very bold and very courageous”, while 12-time Grand Slam singles winner King tweeted that the WTA “is on the right side of history.” Tennis great Martina Navratilova directly challenged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to respond, writing on Twitter that “so far I can barely hear you!!!” China will host the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. The Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) on Thursday expressed “indignation and firm opposition” to the WTA’s announcement, state-owned newspaper Global Times reported. And Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the country was “firmly opposed to acts politicising sport,” in a brief response to reporters. ‘Serious doubts’ The 35-year-old Peng, a Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion, has been at the centre of international concern for the past month. She was not seen for weeks following her allegations on the Twitter-like Weibo platform that Zhang, now in his 70s, coerced her into sex during a years-long on-off relationship. Her allegations, posted on 2 November, were quickly scrubbed from the internet in China and online discussions about them remain censored. There has been no response from Zhang. The WTA’s boycott prompted further censorship on the Chinese internet, with comments on some of the organisation’s Weibo posts deleted and its account blocked from the site’s search function. The Global Times on Thursday accused the WTA in an editorial posted only on Twitter of putting on “an exaggerated show” and “forcing (Peng) to complain in accordance with the imagination and expectations of Western public opinion.” Peng’s claims against Zhang were the first time China’s #MeToo movement has touched the highest echelons of the ruling Communist Party. State media have pointed to an email attributed to Peng and photos of her at a Beijing tennis event as evidence of her safety. She also participated in a video call on 21 November with IOC president Thomas Bach, which drew criticism. The uncertainty over Peng has reignited calls for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games over China’s human rights record. “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,” Simon said in the statement announcing the WTA’s decision. Simon said that he still had “serious doubts that she is free, safe, and not subject to censorship, coercion, and intimidation.” The European Union, the United Nations, the United States and Britain all have called for proof of Peng’s whereabouts and well-being. Beijing has remained mostly tight-lipped, saying the situation surrounding Peng has been “maliciously hyped up.” Millions of dollars Next year’s WTA schedule had not yet been announced, but China looks unlikely to be hosting major international sport — except the Olympics — any time soon because of its strict coronavirus policies. In 2019, China hosted 10 WTA events with total prize money topping $30 million. Speaking on CNN, Simon said he had been unable to contact Peng directly despite multiple attempts. Asked if the WTA had been contacted by any corporate sponsors of the Olympics or other sports with big business in China, such as the NBA, Simon said: “We haven’t heard from the partners involved in the Olympics and other properties involved in China. “Our position here is very, very clear: I can only imagine the range of emotions and feelings that are likely going through Peng right now. “We hope that she feels that none of this is her fault and that we’re very proud of her.”