[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced on the 2nd (local time) that it will immediately suspend all tournaments scheduled to be held in China, including Hong Kong, due to the Me Too case involving Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.
According to CNN, the WTA announced the suspension of tournaments related to China, stating that after Peng Shuai accused a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault, China has remained silent on the matter. The WTA also criticized that proper investigations into Peng Shuai's safety have not been conducted.
Steve Simon, CEO of the WTA Tour, stated in a statement released on the internet homepage and other platforms that "With the full support of the WTA board, we have decided to suspend all tournaments held in China, including Hong Kong," adding, "We cannot allow our players to compete in places where Peng Shuai cannot communicate freely and is pressured to conceal her sexual assault allegations."
Peng Shuai, 35 years old this year, is a player who won the women's doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014, and reached the world No. 1 ranking in doubles in 2014.
At the beginning of last month, Peng Shuai revealed on her social media that she was sexually assaulted by Zhang Gaoli, former Vice Premier of the State Council of China. Subsequently, Peng Shuai's account disappeared abruptly, and her whereabouts became unknown, causing a major controversy in the international community.
Following this, Chinese state media released a rebuttal email from Peng Shuai to the WTA Tour stating "the sexual assault allegations are not true," along with recent photos and videos of her, but doubts about Peng Shuai's safety continued.
At the end of last month, it was revealed that Peng Shuai had a video call with Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which seemed to ease concerns about her disappearance. However, controversy persisted as claims emerged that Bach was close to former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli during China's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. In particular, there were criticisms that the IOC and China shared a mutual interest in quickly resolving the Peng Shuai controversy, which had become a "negative factor" ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics scheduled for February 2022.
Even after the video call between Peng Shuai and IOC President Bach was made public, the WTA did not retract its statement that it "still has concerns about Peng Shuai's safety," and this time declared the suspension of tournaments in China, stating that "China has not responded appropriately to this issue."
China is scheduled to host the season-ending WTA Finals until 2030, with the contract reportedly worth $1 billion (approximately 1.1 trillion KRW). In addition to the WTA Finals, about ten other tournaments are held annually in China.
The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) also expressed support for the WTA Tour's decision, calling it "very courageous leadership," and Billie Jean King (78, USA), a "legend of women's tennis," applauded CEO Simon's commitment to human rights, posting on her social media, "This decision shows that women's tennis is a leader in women's sports."
The International Tennis Federation (ITF), which oversees lower-tier circuit tournaments, national team competitions, and amateur tennis, also announced on the 2nd that it will hold discussions related to this matter. ITF spokesperson Heather Bowler told the Associated Press in an interview, "The WTA has consistently stood up for its values," adding, "We will also closely monitor this situation."
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