Dhe international women’s tennis organization WTA has carried out its threat to China. WTA boss Steve Simon announced on Wednesday evening the “immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong”. He could not let players compete there with a clear conscience as long as Peng Shuai, the former world number one in doubles, was not allowed to speak freely about her accusation of sexual assault by a former high party official and because she was probably forced to revoke this accusation. “I am also very concerned about the risks all of our players and staff could face if we were to host events in China in 2022,” wrote Simon on his organization’s website.
The WTA boss is increasing the pressure on Beijing and is once again fueling the debate about a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in February. Simon expressed the hope that “leaders around the world will continue to work to ensure that justice can be done to Peng and all women, regardless of financial consequences”.
What is Baerbock’s view of a diplomatic boycott?
On Tuesday, the European Union asked the Chinese government to fully investigate the sexual assault allegation and to provide “verifiable evidence of Peng Shuai’s safety, well-being and whereabouts”. The EU hinted at fears that Peng was the victim of forced disappearance or arbitrary arrest. The EU expressly rejects such “practices”.
Concern for a star: Peng Shuai in 2018 in Madrid
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Image: Reuters
In an interview, future German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a direct connection between the tennis player’s fate and the question of an Olympic boycott. “When I see how China’s leadership deals with the tennis player Peng Shuai or the arrested citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, we should of course also take a closer look at the Olympic Games,” she said in an interview with the “taz” on Wednesday. However, it did not commit itself to a position on a possible boycott. How to deal with it will “certainly be discussed in the coming weeks,” said Baerbock.
The WTA’s approach differs significantly from that of other sports associations, which in recent years have repeatedly buckled in front of Beijing due to the lucrative Chinese market and apologized for comments from athletes and coaches critical of China, such as the American basketball league NBA .
The WTA also has a lot to lose in China. The prize money alone in the nine tournaments that the association hosted in China before the 2019 pandemic was $ 30.4 million. Of that, $ 14 million went to the WTA finals in Shenzhen. That was five million dollars more than the men’s ATP finals in London. The WTA has signed a ten-year contract with Shenzhen. At the time, Steve Simon spoke of the “largest and most important final deal since the WTA was founded 45 years ago”. The New York Times estimates that the association’s business in China is worth several hundred million dollars. The Reuters news agency reported that the WTA had signed an agreement worth $ 120 million with the live streaming service iQiyi alone.
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