Newsletter

WTA boss Simon suspends tournaments because of Peng Shuai


Said to have been sexually abused: the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai in Melbourne in January 2019
Image: dpa

“I cannot with a clear conscience ask our athletes to compete there if Peng Shuai is not allowed to speak freely”: WTA boss Steve Simon does not want any more tennis tournaments in China and Hong Kong for the time being.

DThe WTA is suspending all tennis tournaments in China and Hong Kong with immediate effect due to the Peng Shuai case. Steve Simon, chairman of the players’ organization, announced this on Wednesday.

“I cannot in good conscience ask our athletes to compete there if Peng Shuai is not allowed to speak freely and has apparently been pressured to withdraw their allegations of sexual assault,” said Simon. The WTA boss was also concerned about the safety of players and coaches.

Peng Shuai (35) reported in early November on the Twitter-like medium Weibo that he had been sexually abused by former Chinese Vice Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli. The entry was deleted as well as numerous Internet entries about Peng, of which there was no trace for more than two weeks. The WTA assessed later statements as being made under duress.

.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending