WTA Tournaments In China: It Is Rare In Sport That The Human Triumphs Over The Business
The association of professional tennis players WTA has had a reputation for being a bit sleepy. In the past few weeks, however, she has gained a profile. Her boss Steve Simon addressed China several times after the player Peng Shuai published allegations of sexual abuse by a top Chinese politician. Simon later threatened consequences if Peng was further censored and the case was not cleared up.
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Now Simon has gotten serious. All WTA tournaments in China will be suspended until the case has been fully and transparently investigated. This is a strong and unusual sign for democracy and against money.
It is rare in sport that the human triumphs over the business. You have to know: China is a huge market especially for women’s tennis. Every September many tennis players move to Asia for a few weeks. They usually play in front of empty ranks, but for big checks. The WTA Finals, the big year-end tournament, migrated to Shenzhen for ten years in 2019. The horrific sum of 14 million dollars was distributed in the first edition, more than at any other WTA event. The winner Ashleigh Barty took in 3.5 million US dollars. In total, around 30 percent of the WTA's income comes from China.
A brave stance from Steve Simon and the WTA, where we put principles above dollar bills and advocate for women everywhere and especially Peng Shuai
tweeted Martina Navratilova, the strongest voice in the tennis business when it comes to the interaction of tennis, society and the world Politics works.
Case of Peng Shuai: China Calls For An End To "Malicious Allegations"
The women's tour likes to refer to its founding history. The WTA was founded in 1970 by nine players around Billie Jean King who no longer wanted to accept the gigantic differences in prize money between men and women. Equality has been one of the big issues in tennis ever since.
The role of the Chinese state media
"If powerful people can suppress women's voices and sweep sexual assault allegations under the rug, the foundation of the WTA - women's equality - would suffer a huge setback," Steve Simon wrote in a public statement on Wednesday . Peng Shuai knew about the danger of her words, but she went public. "I admire their strength and their courage."
Several videos of Peng have surfaced in the past few weeks, published by Chinese state media. Hardly anyone believes that she was able to act freely and without intimidation. Steve Simon recently stated several times that he still had not spoken to Peng, despite establishing contacts through several channels.
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Extremely worth considering: Peng has been a player on the WTA Tour since 2001, she was number 1 in doubles and number 14 in singles. However, her tennis colleagues have not yet had any direct contact with her. Some have swapped their own profile picture on Twitter with a photo of Peng and the hashtag #whereispengshuai.
Now it is exciting to see who will follow from the sports world of the WTA. "There are many organizations that can afford that better than the WTA," said former world number one Andy Roddick, expressing his respect for Simon's decision. From the ATP, the men's tour, nothing has been heard about the case so far, although China plays a smaller role for the men. The ITF, the umbrella organization for the Grand Slam tournaments and the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup team competitions, has not commented either.
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It is also questionable: Are other sports associations now following suit? A popular evasion of athletes or sports clubs is the statement that one should not and should not mix sport and politics. Arsenal FC distanced themselves in 2019 from their player Mesut Özil, when he campaigned for the Muslim Uyghurs who were oppressed in China. A tweet from NBA team manager Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, greetings to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong caused great tensions two years ago; the NBA is considered the most important sports league in China, Morey had to apologize - the money had decided. Most recently, NBA star Enes Kanter pissed off China's leadership. Since then, his club's games have not been streamed in China.
China's propaganda
And in two months the Beijing Winter Olympics will begin. The IOC President Thomas Bach allegedly made a video call with Peng two weeks ago, but there have not yet been any moving pictures. On Thursday morning, the IOC reported again in response to the announcement by the WTA. There was another video chat with Peng, they wrote, they wanted to meet in person in January and are currently choosing the route through Chinese state organizations and "silent diplomacy". Bach is criticized for supporting China's propaganda.
China: Another Video Of Missing Tennis Star Peng Shuai Has Appeared
Meanwhile, Steve Simon said on CNN: "We can't run away from it. If we do, we're telling the world, it's okay not to investigate allegations of sexual violence with the respect and seriousness it needs - because it's too difficult." to do it. We cannot allow that, our organization does not stand for that."
It is an announcement to China and also sounds like a response to the IOC.
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