Women’s tennis organization has serious consequences against China
It is said that missing tennis player Bing Shuai is doing well
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has been gone for several weeks after allegations of sexual assault on a prominent politician. Now a video should show proof that she’s supposed to be fine.
The WTA Tour cannot be deceived by emails and photos of Peng Shuai, who is temporarily gone. China is putting pressure on the tennis player, and she is not allowed to speak freely, says the head of the organization and is now acting.
DrThe WTA does not want to host tournaments in China at the moment due to the case of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, who has temporarily disappeared from the public. Association president Stephen Simon said Wednesday that he cannot ask athletes “in good conscience” to take part in tournaments. “Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely, and she appears to have been pressured to support her allegations of sexual assault.”
“I hope world leaders will continue to work to ensure justice for Bing and all women, regardless of the financial consequences,” Simon went on to say. The suspension of competitions also affects the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The WTA tournaments in China are not planned until the end of the year. The 2022 calendar has not yet been published. In the 2019 season – the last not affected by Covid-19 – ten tournaments were held in China. This included The Women’s Masters, which, with $14 million in prize money, was financially better than their male counterparts.
Novak Djokovic, the top seed in men’s tennis, praised the decision: “I fully support the position of the WTA because we do not have enough information about Shuai Bing,” he said in Madrid. 12-time Grand Slam winner Billie Jean King also welcomed the move. “She commends the WTA leadership for taking a strong stand in defense of human rights in China and around the world,” she wrote on Twitter.
harsh criticism of the International Olympic Committee
After international pressure increased, recordings published via state media emerged showing Bing in a restaurant and at a tennis tournament in Beijing. On November 21, according to the International Olympic Committee, she had a half-hour video call with its president, Thomas Bach.
International Olympic Committee President Bach on the phone with missing tennis player Peng Shuai
Weeks after the disappearance, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach spoke to Peng Shuai on the phone. The Chinese tennis player said she was safe and living at her home in Beijing.
Source: WELT / Lore Schulze-Velmede
Among other things, the WTA did not calm down from this. WTA president Simon said he had received two emails from Bing that “the answers were clearly influenced by others.” “Although we now know where Bing is, I have serious doubts that he is free, safe, and not subject to censorship, coercion or intimidation,” he said on Wednesday. He regrets that Beijing has not “acted with credibility”.
The IOC has also received heavy criticism from human rights activists and American sports associations. Beijing will host the Winter Olympics in February. The Chinese government has yet to take a position on the issue, dismissing the excitement as “deliberate and malicious” exaggeration.
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