The Women’s Tennis Association has announced that it is lifting its 16-month suspension on tournaments in China and will resume play in September.
(Bloomberg) — The Women’s Tennis Association has announced that it is lifting its 16-month suspension on tournaments in China and will resume play in September.
The WTA suspended operations in the country in 2021, after Chinese player and former doubles No. 1 Peng Shuai made accusations against a Chinese official. Soon after Peng disappeared from the tour and the public view, and has since made minor public appearances including being spotted at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
In a statement released on Thursday, WTA said it originally suspended play in China out of concern for the safety of Peng, players and its staff. The organization added that the situation has no signs of changing and that it concluded “we will never fully secure those goals and it will be our players and tournaments who ultimately will be paying an extraordinary price for their sacrifices.”
The WTA said it has been in contact with people close to Peng and were assured she is living safely in Beijing, according to the statement. China’s Foreign Ministry initially denied knowledge of the episode, with a spokesman demanding that foreign media outlets stop “hyping” Peng’s case.
The WTA played nine tournaments in China back in 2019 and has a slew of contracts in the country, including a 10-year contract with Shenzhen to host its season-ending finals.
The WTA doesn’t provide a detailed breakdown of its finances, but at the time of Peng’s disappearance a spokeswoman said estimates that China comprises a third of its total revenue were “an overstatement.”
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