The WTA announced on Wednesday that it is suspending all tournaments in China, including those held in Hong Kong, in response to the ongoing situation surrounding Peng Shuai, who accused a senior leader of the ruling Communist Party of sexual assault and was subsequently not seen in public for several days.
“In good conscience, I don’t see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault,” Steve Simon, the chairman and CEO of the WTA, said in a statement. “Given the current state of affairs, I am also greatly concerned about the risks that all of our players and staff could face if we were to hold events in China in 2022.”
More to come.
