WTA suspends tourneys in China
The women’s professional tennis tour announced Wednesday it was immediately suspending all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, in response to the disappearance from public life of tennis star Peng Shuai after she accused a top Communist Party leader of sexual assault.
The move, a groundbreaking shift in how major sports organizations deal with China’s increasingly authoritarian government, comes as the Women’s Tennis Association has been unable to speak directly with Peng after she made the accusations in social media posts that were quickly deleted. The Chinese government quickly moved to scrub the internet of mentions of Peng, who disappeared from public life for more than two weeks.
Peng, a Grand Slam doubles champion and threetime Olympian, resurfaced late last month in a series of appearances with Chinese officials, including in a video conference with Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, which will bring the Winter Games to Beijing in February.
“While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation,” Steve Simon, the chief executive of the Women’s Tennis Association, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“I very much regret it has come to this point. The tennis communities in China and Hong Kong are full of great people with whom we have worked for many years. They should be proud of their achievements, hospitality and success,” Simon added. “However, unless China takes the steps we have asked for, we cannot put our players and staff at risk by holding events in China. China’s leaders have left the WTA with no choice.”
The move by the WTA marks a major turning point in how sports leagues have dealt with China, a vast market that has provided a huge opportunity for growth among leagues including Premier League soccer, the NBA, professional tennis and golf. Doing business in China has become both lucrative and complicated in recent years as the country’s government has cracked down on free speech and political protest. Its treatment of Muslim minorities has been deemed genocide by the United States and lawmakers in several nations.
And the suspension comes just two months before the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, another crowning moment for the Chinese capital, which will become the first city to host both the summer and winter versions of the world’s largest sporting showcase.
Peng, 35, accused Zhang Gaoli, 75, a former vice premier of China, of sexually assaulting her at his home three years ago. She also described having had an on-and-off consensual relationship with Zhang.
The WTA stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years by pulling out of China.