World tennis number 1 Novak Djokovic gave full support to the WTA’s decision to suspend tournaments in China on Wednesday in support of Peng Shuai, the player who accused a former high Communist leader of his country.
“I fully support the WTA position because we don’t have enough information about Peng Shuai and his well-being,” Djokovic said on the sidelines of the Davis Cup. “His health is of the utmost importance to the world of tennis. It doesn’t have to be her, it could be anyone, a player, something like that doesn’t have to happen. “I think the position of the WTA is very bold and very courageous,” added the Serbian player.
WTA President Steve Simon on Wednesday announced “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 participate in tournaments when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has, it seems, been pressured to reconsider. allegations of sexual abuse, ”he wrote. No WTA tournament was planned before the end of the year and the 2022 schedule has yet to be released.
“Serious doubts about the fact that she is free”
Peng Shuai, 35, disappeared a few days in November after posting a long message on Chinese social network Weibo in which she accused ex-Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli, 40 years her senior and since retired, of the having sexually abused before making her his mistress.
The young woman reappeared on November 21 in a restaurant in Beijing and during a tennis tournament held in the Chinese capital, according to videos published by official media.
“Even though we now know Peng’s whereabouts, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe, and not subject to censorship, coercion or intimidation,” said Wednesday Steve Simon, believing that Beijing had not “acted in a credible way”.
