THE WORLD DEMANDS TO KNOW: WHERE IS PENG SHUAI?
Murray joins UN in calls for action over Chinese star missing since sex assault claim
ANDY MURRAY yesterday joined the campaign to find Peng Shuai as the WTA threatened to pull out of all future events in China over her disappearance.
The former world doubles No.1 has been missing since making allegations of sexual assault against a senior Chinese politician on social media earlier this month.
The UN has now called for information about the ex-Wimbledon champion and the White House last night called on Beijing to provide proof of the tennis star’s whereabouts.
The hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai has been trending on social media around the world – except in statecontrolled China.
Murray added his voice as he tweeted an emotional video of French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova talking about the peaceful Velvet Revolution in the old Czechoslovakia.
The Scot wrote: “Female tennis player Peng Shuai’s whereabouts are currently unknown after making sexual abuse allegations against a Chinese government official. This speech gives us a reminder and some hope that things can change in the future #WhereIsPengShuai.” Liz Throssell, a UN human rights spokesperson, called for proof of Peng’s whereabouts and well-being as well as a full investigation into her allegations.
And WTA boss Steve Simon said his organisation was “at a crossroads” with China and would consider pulling out of the country’s tournaments worth tens of millions of dollars.
“We continue to call for independent and verifiable proof that Peng Shuai is safe and that her sexual assault allegation will be investigated fully, fairly and without censorship,” he said.
“(If not) we’re definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it.”
Such a brave stance would have huge financial implications for the sport, with nine events with total prize money of $30.4m (£22.6m) staged in China in 2019. This included the $14m (£10.4m) on offer at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen – $5m (£3.7m) more than the men’s Nitto ATP Finals. Doubling the prize pot and promising to build a new 12,000-seater venue allowed Shenzhen to see off rival bids from Singapore, Manchester, Prague and St Petersburg to seal a 10-year deal.
Covid saw the event staged in Mexico this week – no tournaments were staged in China this year – but the WTA had planned to return to Shenzhen from 2022-2030.
The WTA also has a 10-year deal with a streaming platform partner in China reportedly worth $120m (£90m). Simon’s principled stand is high risk. China has previously reacted furiously to external criticism from Mesut Ozil, who spoke up in support of Uighur muslims, or then-Houston Rockets manager Daryl Morey, who backed the democracy movement in Hong Kong. But the American has the support of his players.
French star Alize Cornet, who first tweeted about Peng last Saturday, said: “The tour has survived this year without the Asian tournaments, even if there is a lot of money there.
“If, at a given moment, we have to go our separate ways because it no longer aligns with our values, we have to do it even if we lose a bit economically. There are enormous sums at stake but we cannot stay silent.”