WTA boss threatened to withdraw from China because of concerns about the growth of Peng Shuai’s disappearance

The head of the Women’s Tennis Association said he was ready to cut off lucrative business ties with China if tennis star Peng Shuai remains untold and her sexual assault allegations against a top Communist Party official were not investigated. WTA boss Steve Simon’s comments on Thursday came after tennis great Serena Williams called for an investigation into Peng’s whereabouts. Peng, a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion, alleged on Chinese social media earlier this month that former deputy prime minister Zhang Gaoli – who is in his 70s – had “forced” her to care. sex and they had an affair. .

The statements, which for the first time brought the #MeToo movement to the top of China’s ruling Communist Party, were quickly removed from the Weibo-like Twitter platform and the 35-year-old has since ceased to appear. present since then.

Simon told CNN he’s willing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars from China’s business in one of the WTA’s biggest markets to keep Peng safe.

“We are definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it,” says Simon.

He added: “Women need to be respected and not censored.

Serena Williams On Thursday, Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic drew attention to the incident.

“I am deeply saddened and shocked to hear the news of my counterpart, Peng Shuai,” former world number one Williams wrote on Twitter.

“I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not remain silent.”

Williams’ tweet was attached with a photo of Peng smiling with the caption #WhereIsPengShuai.

The WTA, the world’s leading organization in women’s tennis, has called for evidence that she is safe as pressured on Chinese authorities to clarify Peng’s condition and safety.

Suspicious email

Beijing has repeatedly refused to comment on her fate and case.

But the editor of the state-run Global Times, Hu Xijin, tweeted on Friday that he did not believe “Peng Shuai has received the retaliation and repression that foreign media speculate for because the things that people talk about”.

Earlier this week, the state-run CGTN released a screenshot on Twitter of what it claimed was an email written by Peng to Simon and other WTA officials.

In the email, Peng insisted her earlier accusations were “untrue” and said she was “resting at home and everything is fine”.

But suspicions were quickly flagged about the cryptic language used in the purported email from Peng, which Twitter users noted had a pointer visible in the screenshot posted by CGTN.

Simon says he’s struggling to believe the email is authentic.

“Whether she was forced to write it, someone wrote it for her, we don’t know,” Simon told CNN.

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“But at this point, I don’t think there’s any value in that and we won’t feel comfortable until we have had a chance to talk to her.”

Beijing has previously faced accusations of using forced confessions in state media, with UK regulators revoking CGTN’s license for failing to comply with the rules. fairness and privacy.