▲ Photos posted on social media by tennis figures and others concerned about Peng's safety
The women's professional tennis WTA Tour has suspended all tournaments scheduled to be held in China, saying that the safety of tennis player Feng Xiaoyi (China), who went missing after raising allegations of sexual assault by a high-ranking Chinese official, has not been properly investigated. announced.
WTA Tour CEO Steve Simon said in a statement, "With the full support of the WTA Board of Directors, we have decided to suspend all events held in China, including Hong Kong." "Because we can't get our players to go and play where they're under pressure."
Shei Feng, 35 this year, won the women's doubles at Wimbledon 2013 and the French Open tennis tournament in 2014, and climbed to the top of the world doubles ranking in 2014.
Earlier last month, through his social media, Zhang Ga-ori (75), former deputy prime minister of the Chinese State Council, revealed that he had been sexually assaulted, but the account suddenly disappeared and Feng's whereabouts became unclear after that, causing a great controversy in the international community.
Afterwards, through Chinese state-run media, a rebuttal email stating that the sexual assault allegations are not true, and photos and videos of her recent appearance were released one after the other, but the suspicions about Peng's safety continued.
Also, at the end of last month, when it was revealed that Peng had a video call with International Olympic Committee (IOC) Chairman Thomas Bach, rumors about Peng's disappearance seemed to have subsided. It was alleged that they were close, and the controversy continued.
In particular, it was pointed out that the IOC and China are in a relationship that sympathizes with the need to quickly evolve the controversy over Peng Shun, which has emerged as a 'bad news' ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022.
The WTA Tour did not withdraw its position that "we are still concerned about Feng's safety" even after the video call between Peng and Bach was made public, and this time, "China has not responded to this issue in an appropriate way." has been declared on hold.
China is expected to host the WTA Finals, the final game of the season, until 2030, and the contract is said to be worth 1 billion dollars (about 1.1 trillion won).
In addition to the WTA Finals, around 10 other tournaments are held each year in China, so the WTA has suffered a loss of at least 1 trillion won due to the suspension of the Chinese tournament.
The American Tennis Association (USTA) also expressed support for the decision of the WTA tour, saying it was "a very courageous leadership", and "Legend of Women's Tennis" Billie Jean King (78, USA) also said, "I applaud Simon for his will to protect human rights. "This decision is an example of how women's tennis is a leader in women's sports," he wrote on his social media.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF), which oversees circuit competitions, national competitions, and amateur tennis at a lower level than the tour, also announced that it would set up a place to discuss this.
ITF spokeswoman Heather Bowler said in an interview with the Associated Press, "The WTA has been consistently working to uphold its values, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely."
The European Union (EU) also demanded 'reliable evidence' from China, arguing, "The recently revealed appearance of Peng cannot erase concerns about Peng's safety and freedom."
(Photo=Serina Williams social media, WTA Tour internet website, yunhap news)