The quiet Chinese hero who refuses to give up fight
Former doubles partner Andrea Sestini Hlavackova becomes first player close to Peng Shuai to open up on explosive ‘Me Too’ story, writes
At the National Tennis Centre in Beijing fans flocked around their star player, Peng Shuai. It was 2014 and, in her home country, Peng was considered tennis royalty. The first Chinese tennis player, male or female, to become a world No1, Peng had just cruised to victory 6-4, 6-4 to take the China Open title alongside doubles partner Andrea Sestini Hlavackova. There was thunderous applause.
For the Czech player it was an unprecedented scene in a nation where she had only ever witnessed the most lukewarm of receptions for women’s tennis.
“She had to create a little bubble to stay away from fans because otherwise they would eat her alive,” recalls Hlavackova, the first close colleague of the Chinese icon to agree to be interviewed since Peng’s explosive rape allegations about former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli which sparked a #Metoo story of seismic proportions.
Millions of people around the world have since demanded to know, “Where is Peng Shuai?”. Fears are heightened about Chinese state surveillance, and there has been a reluctance to speak out by those who know her best. At the WTA Finals in Guadalajara last week, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei – Peng’s doubles partner when she won Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014 – was asked whether she had attempted to make contact.
Hsieh’s response was muted. “As you may know, I had a hard time getting a visa here, so I’m not focusing on other stuff,” she said. “I hope she’s OK.”
Hlavackova, though, wants to keep the conversation about her former colleague alive. For the Pilsen-born player, who partnered with Peng between 2014 and 2017, her eyes were opened to the frenzied experience of super fandom as she watched matchgoers fawn over Peng. Second only to Li Na in status – the former world No2 and China’s only tennis player to win a major singles title (she won two) – Peng’s quiet character belies the strong emotional connection with her home nation.
“One of my first experiences in China was in Wuhan playing with her,” Hlavackova says. “Usually for the Chinese tournaments it’s tough to feel the energy [from the crowd], but the first time we walked on court the stands were full and they were really loving her. It was a different level.”
Peng, 35, was introduced to tennis by her uncle when she was only eight. Growing up in the southern-central Chinese province of Hunan, she rose to prominence aged 13 overnight after beating a player five years her senior. For
Peng, who underwent surgery for a heart defect only a year earlier aged 12, it marked the beginning of a phenomenal rise.
She moved to the United States to train, and a haul of trophies followed. Twenty-five professional titles in singles and doubles, world No1 in doubles, she competed at three Olympic Games and earned $10million in prize money, as well as reaching a world ranking singles high of 14.
Hlavackova recalls Peng’s extraordinary work ethic. Having played both her opening singles and doubles matches at the 2017 Shenzhen Open, Peng said her
‘As we walked on court the stands were full. They were loving her. It was a different level’
racket was giving her trouble. That evening she decided to drag Hlavackova back to the practice courts. Three hours later they were still there.
“I don’t think I’m a give-up kind of person but I left because I couldn’t move any more,” the 35year-old says now. “She kept going and going. It comes from her nature and the way they operate in China, the way they practise. Her dedication was incredible to me.” After more than a year’s absence from tennis, on Nov 2 Peng alleged to her half a million Weibo followers that former senior politician Zhang, 75, had raped her. During a decadelong on-off relationship, she claimed he “forced” her to have sexual relations with him. For Peng, this was not the first time she had gone toe-to-toe with China’s authorities. In 2008 she joined up with Li to speak out about China’s stringent rules for sports stars that saw the state keep 65 per cent of her earnings. They were eventually both granted more liberties, including autonomy over her coaching team and permission to keep more of her income. But that was nothing compared to what happened next. “She would have known the danger of speaking out,” says Chinese feminist activist Lu Pin, speaking from her home in the US. “Speaking out showed that even someone like her, with power, influence, money and status, could be affected by sexual violence – and also that she can be silenced.”
Peng’s words, her name and even the word “tennis” were censored from Chinese social media. Such state control is not unusual. Sophia Huang Xueqin, a Chinese feminist activist and journalist who has worked with survivors of sexual assault, disappeared in September on her way to the UK.
Relatives of people deemed to be problematic by Chinese authorities are often also harassed, detained and interrogated, meanwhile feminists in China skirt the #Metoo censors by using the hashtag #Mitu. Risking their safety, a group of Chinese feminists projected Peng’s face onto buildings and motorway flyovers with slogans such as “Chinese women said enough” and flooded social media with the imagery.
The hashtag #Whereispengshuai began trending not long after her online footprint was wiped, while Steve Simon, the WTA’S chief executive and chairman, called for an immediate investigation into Peng’s allegations and announced the organisation was prepared to forfeit millions of pounds in an unprecedented sporting boycott of China.
A series of disturbing attempts by Chinese state media to confirm Peng’s safety followed, from a photo of her with a pet cat, to a video call with Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee. As critics called for the Beijing Winter Games in February to be cancelled, Bach insisted Peng appeared “fine” and “relaxed”.
Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch’s China director, looked on with her head in her hands. “I think it’s one thing to deny or remain silent, in the face of serious human rights violations,” she says. “It’s a different matter for the head of the IOC to participate in a Chinese governmentorchestrated propaganda event. It is saying that sexual assault allegations can and will be ignored by the IOC if they throw up problems for a particular Games.”
For those who know Peng, and the tennis world that remains waiting with bated breath for a positive outcome, Hlavackova says there is nothing she can do but remain hopeful. “What else can we be? We’re not people who give up, we’re athletes who fight and I think she’s the same.”
‘Speaking out showed that even she could be affected by sexual violence – and that she can be silenced’