WTA Needs Assurances on Peng Shuai Inquiry for China to Hold Finals

Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org

One year ago Wednesday, Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai publicly said a former high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party had sexually assaulted her.

After she posted on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, no one spoke with her directly for two weeks, but an email purportedly from her was sent to WTA president Steve Simon, and photos and a video were released by state-affiliated media. 

Since she came forward one year ago, the tennis star has not posted on social media or been seen publicly other than at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. She met with IOC President Thomas Bach in February, but she has yet to meet with Simon. So, the concern for her safety continues to be present.

In December 2021, Simon canceled all 10 events in China for the 2022 season, including the WTA Finals, because of the growing concern for Peng’s safety.

But, what about the upcoming 2023 season? Simon recently spoke with the Associated Press to explain how he’s still undecided about when the WTA will return to play in China.

The issue is that China was scheduled to host the WTA Finals through 2030 after signing a deal in ’18. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the finals weren’t held in ‘20 and ‘21 in China. Simon plans to figure out the future of the event by the “first quarter of next year.” He noted that the WTA still has “some issues to resolve,” with Peng’s current situation being one of them.

“We do need to resolve Peng,” Simon said. “We’re comfortable that she’s safe, and we know she’s in Beijing, which is great. We want that. But we haven’t received the assurances that we want with respect to the investigation that we requested. What’s the real story? That’s all we’ve asked for. What’s the story? She obviously had great courage to come forward with what she said. The principles that are involved are right in line with what we stand for as an organization. And what we’ve asked for is an investigation to understand what occurred, what didn’t occur, and then address it appropriately.”

Neither Simon nor any WTA employee have spoken with Peng directly, which is the key component Simon wants in order to feel confident in the league returning to China next season.

Since Peng relayed her account of sexual assault, she later retracted her statement while speaking with Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao last December.

“First of all, I want to emphasize something that is very important,” Peng said, via AP. “I have never said that I wrote that anyone sexually assaulted me. I need to emphasize this point very clearly.”

Peng also told a French newspaper in February that the situation is “an enormous misunderstanding.”

Additionally, China has continued to censor any mention of Peng and her original allegations. Even though the hashtag “#WhereIsPengShuai” went viral all over the world, if anyone in China searched her name with the word “tennis” into Baidu, the Chinese equivalent of Google, there was no mention of her story.

International tennis stars, including Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, voiced their worries on social media last year, and politicians, including Representative Jim Banks of Indiana, called for President Joe Biden and members of his administration to “suspend any high-level dialogues with China until China responds satisfactorily to our inquiries about Peng Shuai’s safety.”