Tennis organization demands investigation into Peng Shuai’s sexual assault claims | Tennis News

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The WTA says the Chinese star, who accused the country’s former prime minister of sexual assault, is worth hearing.
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has called for a “complete, fair and transparent investigation” into allegations of sexual assault by player Peng Shuai against a former Chinese prime minister.
In one statement on Monday, the WTA called for an end to censorship against the former doubles player.
Peng is one of China’s biggest sports stars and on November 2, he complained on his Weibo social media account that Zhang Gaoli had forced a sexual relationship, and then they had a consensual relationship.
Peng said he could not provide evidence to support his allegations.
The post was published and deleted about half an hour later.
The Chinese Internet is highly censored and the private lives of major leaders are a particularly sensitive issue. Zhang, now 75, served as deputy prime minister from 2013 to 2018, and served on China’s decision-making body on the Standing Committee of the Politburo from 2012 to 2017.
Concerns about the global tennis community have grown, as Peng has not seen it from the post.
The WTA said in a statement that it would seek “a full, fair and transparent investigation into allegations of sexual assault against the former Chinese leader.”
“The recent events in China about a WTA player, Peng Shuai, are of great concern,” WTA Tour President and CEO Steve Simon said in a statement.
“Peng Shuai and all women deserve to be heard, not censored. The accusation about the behavior of a former Chinese leader who is involved in a sexual assault must be taken very seriously. “
Peng was the world’s first doubles player in 2014, the first Chinese player to achieve a top ranking after winning the 2013 Wimbledon doubles title and winning the French Open in 2014.
China, the focal point of the most aggressive expansion of the Tour in the last 10 years, hosted nine tournaments in the 2019 season, including the elite WTA finals, offering a total of $ 30.4 million.
The end-of-season WTA Finals, which competed between the top eight singles players and eight doubles teams, had a $ 14 million portfolio in 2019 when it was first played in Shenzhen. The finals ceremony was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and this year it was moved to Guadalajara (Mexico).
The WTA said the tournament will return to Shenzhen from 2022 and the Chinese city will host all editions until 2030.
“I think everyone fully understands what’s at stake here on so many different fronts, as we’re going through it,” Simon told the New York Times on Sunday. “I certainly think that from the players to the management and the board, when we are fully united, the only acceptable approach is to do the right thing.”
Simon told the Times that no one on the WTA Tour has spoken directly to Peng, but he is confident that he has received certification from the Chinese Tennis Association.
“We have received confirmation from several sources, including the Chinese Tennis Association, that it is safe and that there are no physical threats,” Simon told the Times.
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