Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) President Steve Simon announced on Wednesday 1er December, “The suspension of tournaments in China” due to the Peng Shuai case, according to a press release from the body which manages the women’s tennis circuit.
“I am announcing the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong. In all conscience, I do not see how I can ask our athletes to participate in tournaments [en Chine] when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has reportedly been pressured to reverse his sexual assault charges. “
The Chinese player disappeared a few days in November, after accusing Zhang Gaoli, a former senior Chinese leader, of rape. The shattering accusations were the first targeting senior Chinese Communist Party officials since the start of #metoo, a global movement against violence against women.
She was then reappeared on images broadcast by Chinese state television, during a tennis tournament for teenagers in Beijing, the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger. But she did not speak about her situation and the dissemination of images by journalists from state media familiar with the manipulations gave rise to fear that it was a forced staging. Mr. Simon “Remains deeply concerned about Peng Shuai’s freedom from any censorship or coercion and has decided not to contact her again by e-mail until he is sure that his answers are personal and not those of his censors “, said a spokeswoman for the WTA on Saturday.