Tennis stars threw their support behind the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) move to suspend its tournaments in China over concern for Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai (彭帥), as calls grew yesterday for other sports organizations to take action.
The WTA made the decision over what its chairman called enduring “serious doubts” about the safety of Peng, who accused former Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli (張高麗) of sexual assault.
WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon reiterated his calls for China to conduct “a full and transparent investigation — without censorship” into Peng’s claim that Zhang “forced” her into sex.
Photo: AP
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 No. 1 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 wrote on Twitter: “The WTA is on the right side of history in supporting our players.”
Tennis great Martina Navratilova directly challenged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to respond, writing on Twitter that “so far I can barely hear you!!!”
The stance taken by the WTA comes at a sensitive time for China, as Beijing is preparing to host the Winter Olympics in February, and global rights groups and others have called for a boycott in protest against China’s human rights record.
When asked about the matter at a regular briefing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) did not directly comment on the WTA’s move, but said that China “opposes the politicization of sports.”
The IOC said in a statement yesterday that it had held a second video call with Peng, having held the first call late last month.
“We share the same concern as many other people and organizations about the well-being and safety of Peng Shuai. This is why, just yesterday, an IOC team held another video call with her,” the IOC said.
Beijing has remained largely silent over the scandal and authorities have blocked discussions of the topic online.
Yesterday, the Global Times took aim at the WTA in an editorial, accusing it of “bringing politics into women’s tennis” and of being a “lever of Western public opinion.”
The editorial, posted on Twitter — which is not available in China — called the WTA “betrayers of the Olympic spirit” and said that “some forces in the West are instigating a boycott against the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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