2023-05-26 01:16:20
While Peng Shuai, the 37-year-old Chinese player, has been off the radar for almost two years, Steve Simon, the boss of the WTA yesterday assured the organization of professional women’s tennis knows “that she is safe and knows where she is “.
The player disappeared in the fall of 2021 after accusing a senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party of rape. Since then, her rare public appearances have not been sufficient to prove that she was truly free.
Steve Simon’s statement, which occurred in the context of a visit to the Women’s International in Strasbourg on Wednesday, is to be linked to the announcement on April 13 of the return of China to the calendar of the women’s circuit from next September.
For two years, as a result of the Peng Shuai affair, the women’s circuit had removed all women’s events from Chinese territory. “We have taken a very tough stance in China, which very few companies or industries have done,” Steve Simon added on Wednesday. We do not question this decision. It was the right decision to make and I would do it again today. Almost two years later, the progress we wanted to see in China has not led to a solution. So it was time to change the approach. We have been reassured that Peng Shuai is safe and we know where she is. It was the first thing to do.
Then we received confirmation that all our athletes and staff will be able to come in good conditions. We could have stalled and gone no further. Or we can go back there and try to be part of the solution. This is a change of position. But we never said that we will never come back to China. The main thing is how can we continue to defend the interests of Peng Shuai and how can we make meaningful changes there to solve the problems? We have to talk and be together to find solutions. And I hope the return of the WTA to China will give us the opportunity to do so. »
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