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The on-going lack of silence from players, the WTA, and beyond the realm of tennis sparked significant media attention around Peng Shuai's safety.
Published Dec 25, 2021
10. Peng Shuai
Not as much a tennis story as a news story about a tennis player, the whereabouts of Peng Shuai became a subject of global interest in the final weeks of the season—and its implications look to be getting even larger.
The sequence of events began on the 2nd of November, when Peng, 35, appeared to have posted a lengthy account on Chinese social media, saying she was coerced into a sexual relationship with a high-ranking former member of the ruling CCP, 75, starting three years ago. It included an incident with guards positioned in front of the room. Even if "inviting self-destruction, I will tell the truth about you," said the post.
It took around 20 minutes for China's censors to scrub the posting off the network, and then suspend her account and remove all references to her name—or for a while, even "tennis player"— from the Chinese internet. There are screenshots still floating around elsewhere.
And so Peng's story would instead turn into the Peng story, with concern growing steadily when days went by and there was no word from the player once ranked No. 1 in doubles and in the Top 15 in singles.
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Let's not remain silent #WhereIsPengShuai 😰😰😰
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) November 13, 2021
WTA chief Steve Simon tells @nytimes that the tour has not spoken to Peng Shuai but has received assurances she is "safe and and not under any physical threat".
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) November 14, 2021
Says WTA is willing to risk China backlash & business to do "what is right"
My latesthttps://t.co/uTdC6Wkkhu
Please guys. I created some icon for Twitter, with the #WhereIsPengShuai and also a Banner.
— Yoann (@sweetbackhand) November 17, 2021
PUT IT ON YOUR PROFIL, AND BANNER. We need to be L O U D ! 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/Y4xiegMwpS
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The online rumbling got louder when French player Alize Cornet joined in and tweeted using the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai, which took off and drew broader attention to the events. A statement the next day from WTA CEO Steve Simon declared that the "allegations must be investigated," and Simon told the New York Times that he was assured Peng was "safe" and not under "physical threat" but had not established contact.
Support is growing 🙏#WhereIsPengShuai
— Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) November 18, 2021
Thanks to @serenawilliams, @naomiosaka, @WTA and MANY OTHERS for lending your strong voice and power. pic.twitter.com/LyPWn0Oc27
Then the sport's top names began to speak up, with public statements by Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Chris Evert and others, along with press conference comments by Novak Djokovic. The lack of silence sparked significant media attention, and perhaps prompted the clumsily-presented counter-response that followed.
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From Chinese state media, “from” Peng Shuai. Deeply dubious. pic.twitter.com/XJkB169VD9
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) November 17, 2021
A letter purportedly from Peng to Simon was published by Chinese government-affiliated media, saying she was "resting at home" and denying her previous allegations. Some videos of Peng dining with her coach and appearing at a juniors event were also released, though it was not obvious when they had been recorded.
These were received with howls of derision online, with Simon stating that the letter only increased "my concern as to her safety."
[The #WhereIsPengShuai hashtag became #freePengShuai, indicating the efforts had not been convincing—quite the opposite.]
Around then, the White House, the UN and the EU all also publicly called for Peng's safety to be verified. This had obviously now gone beyond tennis or even sports.
Où est Peng Shuai ?
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) November 19, 2021
Voici la une de L'Équipe du 20 novembre. pic.twitter.com/vU50UXNorD
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That might have influenced what happened next—a video conference between IOC President Thomas Bach, other IOC officials and Peng, which was followed by the release of a photo of Peng smiling on screen and a statement that said she appeared to be "safe" and wanted privacy.
It backfired.
Here is our timeline on the Peng Shuai, China, #MeToo, censorship row#AFPgraphic @AFP pic.twitter.com/4YJ7YLzcY9
— John Saeki (@JohnSaeki) November 23, 2021
The International Olympic Commission had been under pressure to intervene given Peng's previous participation in three Olympics, especially with the next Games scheduled for Beijing just months away. But the video call did not go down much betterhuman rights groups criticized the IOC for boosting China's propaganda, though IOC member Dick Pound did note that the commission so far had been the only one to succeed in organizing contact with Peng.
The WTA said the call did not "alleviate" its concerns, and Simon repeated prior warnings that the tour and China were "at a crossroads." But little more was forthcoming.
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"With the full support of the WTA Board of Directors, I am announcing the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong."
— wta (@WTA) December 1, 2021
As a month approached since Peng's fateful posting, the WTA announced that it was withdrawing all its events from China. It could not have been a light decision—the ten-plus WTA tournaments in China award around $ 30 million in prize money, and it is quite likely the country provided more than a third of the WTA Tour's own earnings. While those events had been suspended during the pandemic—they still had a lot of weight.
Amid the Women's Tennis Association's decision to pull future events in China over concern for tennis star Peng Shuai, @jaketapper examines China's alleged history of human rights abuses and questions if other organizations will put ethics over profit. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/wOgsdM590w
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) December 5, 2021
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The move thrusted the story back into the spotlight, with Simon receiving international praise for a tougher stance than other sporting organizations have previously taken. The IOC then announced it had a second call with Peng, reiterating that she appeared "safe" and Bach would be meeting with her in China prior to the Beijing Olympics. The ITF, whose president, David Haggerty, is an IOC member, also told players more quietly there would be no ITF events in China next season.
Ici, ou ailleurs.#WaitingForPengShuai@WTA https://t.co/JTAqX4OcAh
— Nico Mahut (@nmahut) December 9, 2021
And despite a lull, the story has kept rumbling in the background.
The ATP Tour, which issued statements backing the WTA, has been under pressure to take a more firm stand. The IOC is receiving repeated questions about Peng in the run-up to the Games. Various governments, led by the United States, announced that they would not send their officials to the Olympics as a more general protest of China's violations of human rights. Some tournaments in France have invited Peng to give the trophy to the winner or placed #WhereIsPengShuai on their court signage.
The ongoing interest seems to have had an effect, because this week came the most robust glimpse into Peng's circumstances—a video from Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao interviewing her in Shanghai. In the video, a blinking and cautious Peng mentioned her original internet posting, though only to deny that she had ever alleged being sexually assaulted and that the posting had been twisted. She also said she had no current plans to go abroad, and "I've been very free all along."
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This is… unsettling… https://t.co/JiDatYG34G
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) December 20, 2021
#BREAKING The Women's Tennis Association says Peng Shuai's latest appearance has not eased concerns about her, after a video emerged of the Chinese tennis star denying accusing anyone of sexual assault pic.twitter.com/g3vukNKfbp
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) December 20, 2021
Still, it was hardly convincing, with the WTA again having to state that it did not alleviate their concerns. Instead of answers, there were simply more questions.
And there it stands, for now, with the way forward uncertain and difficult. But for the tennis community, which so easily traverses borders, the detainment has unquestionably hit home and still reverberates. The sport played across the world is navigating deep divisions within it.