WTA suspends events in China

Association doubts Peng Shuai is safe from intimidaton

The women’s professional tennis tour announced Wednesday that it was 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 three-time 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 said. “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.