WTA boss Steve Simon has assured before the start of the French Open that China’s tennis player Peng Shuai is safe. The women’s tour chairman had to explain himself again about his own China policy after the WTA decided to return tournaments in China to the tour calendar.
The French Open is just around the corner, and as with all Grand Slam tournaments in the past two years, a question arises off the tennis court: “Where’s Peng Shuai?” The fate of the Chinese tennis player, who accused a party official of sexual abuse in a post on social media in November 2021 and was then considered untraceable for weeks, is still a big topic in the tennis world. At the Australian Open in January, the tournament organizers expressly allowed fans to wear T-shirts with the now famous hashtag “Where is Peng Shuai” should wear, in the previous year the officials had taken action against it.
WTA boss Simon on Peng Shuai: “We know where she is”
Before the start of the French Open on Sunday (May 28th, 2023), the most powerful man in women’s tennis, Steve Simon, head of the WTA tour, had news to announce about Peng Shuai: The WTA had been assured from China that “Peng Shuai is safe,” Simon told the French sports newspaper L’Equipe. “We know where she is.”
Peng Shuai had retracted the allegations against the KP politician after the case became known, but concerns about the tennis player’s well-being remained high. China’s government had circulated alleged photos and videos of the player via social networks accessible to Western media, the authenticity of which was questioned. Neither the “silent diplomacy” of IOC President Thomas Bach, who appeared in a video call with Peng Shuai in the run-up to the Winter Olympics in Beijing, could dispel the doubts that Peng Shuai was actually safe. Nor her appearances at the games in Beijing and an interview she gave to the “L’Equipe“, in an Olympic hotel, surrounded by Chinese officials.
China boycott of the WTA
Especially the WTA chairman Simon had repeatedly demanded guarantees from China as well as verifiable information that could prove that Peng Shuai was not threatened by the power apparatus and could move freely. Simon had also made the case a personal mission, at the latest when he deleted all tournaments scheduled for China from the tour calendar last year.
The fact that a Western official or sports marketer would take on China over human rights issues and even unilaterally suspend contracts was unprecedented in the sports world. There was a lot of support from tennis greats like Martina Navratilova (“Values are more important than dollars“) or Billie Jean King: “We are on the right side of history.”
A third of WTA revenue comes from China
But the exciting question remained as to how long the WTA could hold out against China – and above all would like to do without the millions of Chinese sponsors. Both Australian Open For example, a Chinese spirits brand, which is also the name sponsor of one of the arenas in Melbourne, was allowed to continue advertising unhindered. According to calculations by the US magazine “Sports Illustrated” At least one third of the total income of the WTA should flow from China.
Last April, the tour organization actually did the about-face. The WTA announced that tournaments are to be held in China again from autumn 2023, including the end of the season, the WTA Finals in Shenzhen. And that although there were no more answers from China about Peng Shuai, as the WTA had to admit. But if China were to be excluded again, the players would have to “pay an extraordinary price for their sacrifices“, announced the WTA.
DTB President von Arnim: “WTA responsible for 1200 players”
Dietloff von Arnim, President of the German Tennis Association, provided support. The WTA is not only responsible for one player, “but for more than 1200. They want to play tournaments. And the WTA in China takes away the opportunity to do so.”
WTA backtracks on China: “Find a solution together”
WTA boss Simon, who had previously made the tour’s return to China dependent on an investigation into the Peng Shuai case, was still there as someone who buckled in front of China. Simon now justified himself once again to “L’Equipe” for withdrawing: “We have taken a tough stance in China, unlike any other company or industry. This decision was right, I would do it the same way again“said Simon. After almost two years there had been no progress, he now hopes for the return of the WTA: “We will talk to each other and try to find a solution together.”
The renewed assurances from China that Peng Shuai was safe seemed to Simon to be sufficient: “That was the most important thing to do.” This sounded like the subject was over for him.