The WTA, the body that governs the professional women’s tennis circuit, announced this Thursday that it will resume its competitions in China in September after having suspended them in December 2021 due to the Peng Shuai case, the Chinese tennis player (former number one in the world in doubles) who denounced former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli for sexual abuse in November of that year. The player, who is currently 37 years old, then remained without giving signs of life for days, until she finally reappeared in some videos and a subsequent telematic chat with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after international pressure exerted on the country’s authorities.
The WTA then thought that the tests were not necessary, requested a rigorous investigation into the player’s complaint and canceled her tournaments in the Asian giant. More than a month and a half after the complaint, Shuai retracted it and denied accusing a senior Chinese official of rape. In her change of speech, the athlete said that the statement in which she claimed that former Deputy Prime Minister Gaoli (77 years old) had abused her was a “private matter” and that people had made a “misunderstanding” .
However, the body that governs the professional women’s tennis circuit now considers that the boycott of Chinese tournaments has ceased to make sense because its pressure measures have not caused any type of change in the country’s regime. “After 16 months with the competitions suspended in China and continuous efforts to achieve our original objectives, the situation has not shown signs of having changed,” the WTA acknowledges in a statement. “We have concluded that we will never guarantee our objectives in an absolutely certain way, and that it will be our players and tournaments that will ultimately pay an extraordinary price for their sacrifices,” he says in the text, which adds: “For this reason, the WTA lifts his suspension from holding tournaments in the People’s Republic of China and will resume his tournaments in China this September.” The WTA will announce the calendar for the second part of the year in the coming weeks and it will be known exactly which tournaments will return to the schedule.
Last January, the WTA said it was confident that Peng Shuai was “comfortable and safe” in Beijing, but that it wanted to hold a private meeting with her before operating again in China. “We have not been able to achieve everything we set out to do, but we have been in contact with people close to Peng and we are sure that she lives safely with her family in Beijing,” the WTA wrote in the statement. “We have also received assurances that WTA players and staff operating in China are safe and secure while in the country. The WTA takes this commitment seriously and will hold all parties accountable,” she added.
The tennis player’s last public appearance was at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February last year, when she conducted an interview with the French newspaper L’Equipe. Peng Shuai’s complaint uses an international protest for his safety. The WTA’s decision to suspend events in China will cost the organization millions of euros and television and sponsorships.
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