The pinnacle of the ladies’s skilled tennis tour introduced Wednesday that every one WTA tournaments could be suspended in China due to issues in regards to the security of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former high-ranking authorities official in that nation of sexual assault.
Peng dropped out of public view after elevating the allegations about former vice premier Zhang Gaoli in a Nov. 2 social media posting that was shortly taken down by Chinese language authorities.
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“Sadly, the management in China has not addressed this very critical subject in any credible means,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon wrote in an announcement distributed by the tour. “Whereas we now know the place Peng is, I’ve critical doubts that she is free, secure, and never topic to censorship, coercion, and intimidation.”
Simon repeated his name for a “full and clear investigation — with out censorship” into Peng’s accusations and took an unusually robust stand in opposition to China, which was imagined to be the positioning of a number of tennis tournaments subsequent 12 months, together with the distinguished season-ending WTA Finals.
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“In good conscience, I don’t see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai just isn’t allowed to speak freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault,” Simon mentioned. “Given the present state of affairs, I’m additionally vastly involved in regards to the dangers that every one of our gamers and employees may face if we have been to carry occasions in China in 2022.”
Beijing is about to host the Winter Olympics starting on Feb. 4, and Worldwide Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach mentioned late final month he spoke with Peng on a video name. The IOC didn’t launch video or a transcript of the change and mentioned solely that Bach reported she mentioned she was properly.
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The IOC mentioned in an announcement that Peng seemed to be “doing effective” and mentioned she had requested privateness. The IOC didn’t clarify how the decision was organized, though it has labored intently with the Chinese language Olympic Committee and authorities officers to arrange the upcoming Olympics.
Critics have advised that Peng wouldn’t have known as the IOC if she was really free to talk.
“If highly effective folks can suppress the voices of ladies and sweep allegations of sexual assault beneath the rug, then the idea on which the WTA was based — equality for ladies — would endure an immense setback,” Simon mentioned. “I can’t and can’t let that occur to the WTA and its gamers.”
© 2021 The Canadian Press