Tag: Tennis

How Peng Shuai Went From ‘Chinese Princess’ to Silenced #MeToo Accuser

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When Peng Shuai was a young tennis player in China’s national sports system, she battled officials for control over her own professional career — and she won. When she took on one of China’s most powerful men three weeks ago, accusing him of sexual assault, she found her voice silenced, erased from China’s heavily controlled cyberspace and smiling in awkward public appearances most likely intended to defuse what has become an international scandal. At 35, Ms. Peng is one of her country’s most recognized athletes, a doubles champion at Wimbledon…

Peng Shuai: WTA says Chinese tennis star’s call with IOC chief is not enough

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Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not address or alleviate the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) concern about her wellbeing, the WTA said on Monday. The whereabouts of former doubles world number one Peng have been a matter of international concern for nearly three weeks after she alleged that a former senior Chinese government official sexually assaulted her. She appeared at a dinner with friends on Saturday and a children’s tennis tournament in Beijing on Sunday, photos and videos published…

Video of Peng Shuai With Olympic Officials Fuels a Showdown With Tennis

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According to the I.O.C. statement, Bach invited Peng to a dinner when he arrives for the Games in Beijing, which would include Terho and Li Lingwei, an I.O.C. member and Chinese Tennis Federation official who also participated in the call. However, the seemingly friendly banter and dinner plans did little to satisfy Steve Simon, the chief executive of the WTA Tour. Simon has been trying to establish independent contact with Peng for more than a week to no avail and has grown increasingly strident in his criticism of the Chinese…

Who, and Where, Is Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai?

Chin@Strategy

A simple question has gripped the sports world and drawn the attention of the White House, United Nations and others: Where is Peng Shuai? The Chinese tennis star disappeared from public view for weeks this month after she accused a top Chinese leader of sexual assault, prompting a global chorus of concern for her safety. Then, this weekend, the editor of a Communist Party-controlled newspaper posted video clips that appear to show Ms. Peng eating at a restaurant and attending a tennis event in Beijing. And on Sunday, the International…

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai tells IOC she is ‘safe and well’

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The Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she was safe and well in a video call on Sunday, the International Olympic Committee has said, amid growing international demands for assurances that she is free and not under threat. In a statement, the IOC said that Peng had spoken to its president, Thomas Bach, for 30 minutes. “She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time,” the IOC’s statement said. “That is why she prefers…

Peng Shuai Said to Be in Videos From China’s State Media

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Nearly two weeks after people across the world began asking “Where is Peng Shuai?,” two questionable videos surfaced Saturday on social media of a person who appears to be the Chinese tennis star at a restaurant. The videos were shared on Twitter by the editor of a state-run newspaper, but the seemingly unnatural conversation in one video and the unclear location and dates of both raised questions about Peng’s safety and whether she was appearing in the videos of her own free will. A third video, said to be of…

‘Horrifying’: Djokovic voices concern for Peng Shuai as WTA threatens to pull out of China – video

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The men’s world No 1 Novak Djokovic voiced his concern for missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Djokovic said he supported “100%” the WTA’s threat to pull events out of China.  Peng, a former doubles world No 1, has not been seen in public since she accused the former high-ranking official Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault on 2 November. A journalist from China’s state broadcaster has revealed a set of photos, which he said were posted on Peng’s WeChat social media account on Friday, but analysts debated the authenticity of…

Concern and Anger Build Over Peng Shuai’s Sexual Assault Allegations

Chin@Strategy

There has never been a case like this in China: a prominent athlete making such significant allegations against one of the country’s major political figures. Though Simon received an email from Peng this week, Simon has cast doubt on its authenticity and insisted that the tour wants verifiable proof that Peng is safe. He has said that no one in the tennis community has been able to contact her directly. Simon has called for a full investigation into Peng’s allegations of sexual assault, an inquiry free of censorship. That could…

The Question the I.O.C. Is Too Weak to Ask

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Where is Peng Shuai? That’s the question the International Olympic Committee and its president, Thomas Bach, should be shouting right now — loud, demanding, and aimed squarely at the leadership in China, set to host the Beijing Games in February. But instead of firm demands, we’re hearing not much more than faint, servile whispers from Olympic leadership. Peng, 35, a Chinese tennis star and three-time Olympian, has been missing since Nov. 2, when she used social media to accuse Zhang Gaoli, 75, a former vice premier of China, of sexually…

Peng Shuai: WTA prepared to pull out of China over tennis star’s disappearance

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The Women’s Tennis Association is prepared to pull its tournaments out of China if there isn’t an adequate response to Peng Shuai’s allegation that she was sexually assaulted by China’s former vice premier, chief executive Steve Simon has told US media. Peng, Chinese tennis star and former doubles world No.1, has not been seen in public since she accused the former high-ranking official, Zhang Gaoli, of sexual assault in a Weibo post that was deleted half an hour later. In the lengthy 2 November post, Peng alleged that Zhang had…