Where is Peng Shuai? For a brief moment during the Winter Olympics last year I had an answer, of sorts, to that deeply troubling question. For there she was, suddenly and without warning, at the Big Air final, watching the Chinese‑American superstar Eileen Gu soar and spin through the Beijing sky to take gold. At first I wondered from my vantage point in the press stands whether it was really Peng. The presence of the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, and a swarm of photographers, answered that. Soon images…
Tag: Tennis
Women’s Tennis Tour Approves Deal for Pay Equity by 2033
The women’s professional tennis tour took another step on Tuesday toward closing the gender pay gap, as players and tournament officials committed to bringing their prize money in line with the men for the most significant tournaments, though the shift won’t be complete for 10 years. The move came after months of negotiations within the WTA Tour, which includes tournament organizers, as well as years of complaints from players and foot-dragging by tournament officials who for decades have paid female professionals a fraction of what they pay the men even…
WTA Lifts Suspension on Tournaments in China
The WTA will resume operating tournaments in China later this year after having suspended events there in late 2021 because of concerns about the Chinese player Peng Shuai. The return, announced Thursday, is also a retreat. When Peng, one of China’s biggest tennis stars, accused a former top Chinese government official of sexual assault in a social media post in November 2021, the WTA and Steve Simon, its chairman and chief executive, took a strong stance. The WTA called for a “full and transparent” inquiry into Peng’s allegations, which were…
WTA will return to China after ending boycott over Peng Shuai concerns
WTA tournaments will return to China this year after the Tour ended its boycott over concerns about the safety of the Chinese player Peng Shuai. The decision represents a significant U-turn in the Women’s Tennis Association’s policy since its president and chief executive, Steve Simon, took the decision to suspend tournaments in China in December 2021 after a high-profile row with Beijing over the player’s wellbeing. Peng had accused Zhang Gaoli, the former Chinese vice-premier, of sexual assault in a lengthy post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. The…
At the Australian Open, Shang Juncheng Leads Wave of Talent From China
But Shang, once the world’s top-ranked junior, is the youngest member of a promising new wave that includes Wu Yibing, 23, and Zhang Zhizhen, 26. All three were in the main draw this year in Melbourne. It is the first time three Chinese men have played singles in the same major in the Open era, which began in 1968. On Monday, while Shang was breaking through on Court 13, Wu was on adjacent Court 14, playing grinding rallies with Corentin Moutet of France before losing in five sets. Wu, who…
Return to China will require a resolution of Peng Shuai case, says Women’s Tennis Association
The return of WTA tournaments to China in 2023 will hinge on a resolution to the Peng Shuai issue, with the governing body of the women’s game telling Reuters on Wednesday it had still not personally met with the Chinese former doubles world number one personally since she briefly disappeared last year. Peng accused Chinese former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault in 2021 in a post on social media which was soon removed from the country’s internet. She later said the post was “an enormous misunderstanding” and that she…
Activists to revisit controversial ‘Where is Peng Shuai’ protests at January Australian Open
Activists plan to reprise their controversial “Where is Peng Shuai?” protest at next month’s grand slam, with the support of three-time Australian Open winner Martina Navratilova. At this year’s Open in January, Tennis Australia was criticised for initially confiscating the shirts, citing a ban on “commercial or political” material. The decision was later reversed. Protesters say hundreds of new “Where is Peng Shuai?” shirts have already been printed with plans to hand out 1,000 to tennis fans outside the Australian Open gates. Peng disappeared from public view for several weeks…
WTA Finals Set for Texas This Year, but a Return to China Is Uncertain
The WTA announced Tuesday that Fort Worth would host its annual season-ending WTA Finals this year. The tournament, which will begin Oct. 31, said it had a one-year agreement to play in Fort Worth, “with the event thereafter due to return to Shenzhen, China.” But the WTA said the suspension of its tournaments in China remained in place, leaving the WTA Finals’ return to China in 2023 uncertain. WTA tournaments in China have been suspended since December, when Steve Simon, the tour’s chairman and chief executive, announced the decision, after…
Wu Yibing’s U.S. Open Run Could Influence Tennis in China
Shortly after Wu Yibing made tennis history on Wednesday by becoming the first Chinese man to reach the third round of the U.S. Open, a tournament that dates to 1881, he was informed that his name was on fire on Chinese social media platforms like Weibo and WeChat. Fans and admirers in China were spreading the word that Wu, a past U.S. Open junior champion, had just beaten Nuno Borges of Portugal in a tough five-set match that lasted nearly four hours. Not only was Wu the first Chinese man…
Peng Shuai demonstrators at Wimbledon allege harassment by security staff
Activists wearing “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-shirts claim they were confronted by Wimbledon security staff who warned them against approaching spectators and political messaging at SW19. Nine-time champion Martina Navratilova expressed her anger at the move after the campaigners posted a video online saying they were stopped and questioned. The group of four men from the Free Tibet campaign said they came to Wimbledon to “raise a bit of awareness” about the Chinese tennis player, a former doubles world No 1. The 36-year-old disappeared from public view for weeks last…