Peng Shuai should be heard, not censored’: WTA to China

The Women’s Tennis Association called on the Chinese government to investigate allegations of sexual assault made by former top-ranked doubles star Peng Shuai against a former Chinese vice premier and that the player should be “heard, not censored”.

The allegations

On November 2, Shuai — winner of Wimbledon and French Open doubles titles and the first Chinese player to top the world rankings in 2014 — posted on social media that Zhang Gaoli sexually assaulted her despite several refusals.

Zhang, 75, was a member of the Communist Party’s seven-person Politiburo Standing Committee — the nation’s top ruling body headed by leader Xi Jinping — from 2012 to 2017 and retired as vice premier in 2018.

Screenshots of Peng’s post on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of microblogging site Twitter, detailed an incident three years ago when Zhang invited her to play tennis with him and his wife and then sexually assaulted her in his house. “I never consented that afternoon, crying all the time,” the 35-year-old wrote, adding that she also had a consensual relationship with Zhang and that she could not produce evidence to substantiate her accusation.

“I know that for someone of your eminence, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, you’ve said that you’re not afraid,” Peng wrote, “but even if it’s just me, like an egg hitting a rock, or a moth to the flame, courting self-destruction, I’ll tell the truth about you.”

According to the New York Times, Peng’s post was taken down within an hour and searches of her name, as well as “tennis”, appeared to be temporarily blocked.

Aftermath

Peng has not been seen since the post, prompting concerns from the global tennis community for her safety. French player Alize Cornet showed her support for Peng with a tweet “Let’s not remain silent” under the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai. while former world number one American Chris Evert posted: “I’ve known Peng since she was 14; we should all be concerned; this is serious; where is she? Is she safe? Any information would be appreciated.”

Male tennis players Liam Broady and Nicolas Mahut also raised concerns.

In an interview with NYT on Sunday, WTA chief Steve Simon said that the organisation has “received confirmation from several sources, including the Chinese Tennis Association, that she is safe and not under any physical threat”, but those associated with the Tour, including officials and players, “have not been able to speak with her directly to this date.”

Earlier on Sunday, Simon, the chairman and CEO of WTA, called for an investigation into the allegations.

“Peng Shuai, and all women, deserve to be heard, not censored. Her accusation about the conduct of a former Chinese leader involving a sexual assault must be treated with the utmost seriousness,” the statement read.

“Obviously she displayed tremendous courage going public,” Simon told the NYT. “Now we want to make sure we’re moving forward to a place where a full and transparent investigation is conducted. Anything else, I think, is an affront to not only our players but to all women.”

Former world No. 1 Martina Navratilova commended the WTA for its “strong” and “correct stance”.

China’s importance

Simon’s comments are especially important in the context of WTA’s business relationship with China, the host nation for several tournaments, including the Tour finals.

In 2018, WTA signed a record 10-year deal — estimated to be worth close to $1 billion according to SportsBusiness Journal — making Shenzhen the host for the year-end flagship event featuring the top eight singles and doubles players. The lucrative bid fended off rival cities including Manchester, England and doubled the event’s prize money to $14 million.

The deal was the biggest ever struck in women’s sport — eclipsing WTA’s own six-year, $88 million title sponsorship agreement with Sony Ericsson in 2005. Simon had then called it “the largest and most significant WTA Finals deal in the 45 years since the WTA was founded and promises to take the event to a spectacular new level.” The finals, as well as the 11 scheduled WTA tournaments in China, haven’t been held in the nation due to the pandemic.

On Monday, Simon admitted that “everybody fully understands what’s at stake here on many different fronts as we’re going through it”, but maintained that if the WTA didn’t see “the appropriate results” from the investigation, “we would be prepared to take that step and not operate our business in China if that’s what it came to.”