Where is Peng Shuai?

Following the conclusion of the four Grand Slams – the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open – the casual tennis fan may well consider the season to be over.

Only staunch supporters keep up to date with the tournaments which continue right up until November, and the media coverage dwindles to reflect this. As such, the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) return to China has flown under the radar somewhat, which will likely suit both parties perfectly.

The China Open is currently ongoing in Beijing, following on from last month’s tournaments in Guangzhou and Ningbo. It will be followed by the Zhengzhou Open and Jiangxi Open, with the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai then closing out the six-tournament stint in China.

It is the first time the WTA Tour has been staged in China since 2019. This absence is in part down to the COVID-19 pandemic, but mainly because of the WTA’s response to the disappearance of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.

TW: Sexual Assault

The wellbeing of Peng, a former world number one doubles player, became a concern in November 2021 after she took to social media platform Weibo to claim she had been sexually assaulted by China’s former Vice Premier, Zhang Gaoli, in 2018.

Peng’s post was soon deleted, and she disappeared from public view for a number of weeks. The worldwide concern for the 37-year-old heightened, and the WTA decided to take a courageous hardline stance on the situation. It pulled all of its tournaments out of China until it was able to speak to Peng directly and a “full, fair and transparent” investigation was made into her claims.

The WTA maintained its stance despite Peng’s surprise appearance at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, during which she watched the snowboard big air final with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and gave an interview to L’Équipe, calling the entire situation “an enormous misunderstanding”.

At the time, WTA CEO Steve Simon made it clear he felt Peng’s responses were “influenced by others” and that she was “not free from censorship or coercion.” He promised to stay “resolute”, saying, “we do hope to be back there in 2023 with the resolution that shows progress was made in the space.”

Now, in 2023, the WTA Tour has indeed returned to China. But has progress been made? This doesn’t seem to be the case. Peng hasn’t been seen in public since the Winter Olympics last year, and Simon has confirmed that his demands for a meeting with Peng and a full investigation into her accusations were not met.

So why has the WTA returned to China? According to Simon, the organisation is now “convinced” it will never get what it asked for.

“To continue with the same strategy doesn't make sense,” Simon said. “We needed to look at a different approach.

“With this, our members believe it's time to resume the mission in China, where we believe we can continue to make a positive difference, as we have for the last 20 years, while at the same time make sure that Peng is not forgotten. By returning, hopefully more progress can be made.”

There’s probably a couple of other factors behind the decision to stand down. Firstly, the WTA took a hefty financial hit after withdrawing its tournaments from China, with the country proving to be an extremely lucrative market for tennis. With the WTA reportedly enduring losses of $15.1m and $16.5m in 2020 and 2021 respectively – a result of the pandemic – it could likely ill afford to maintain its stance on China.

Secondly, it was easier to stage a boycott of China when very few sporting events were taking place in the country anyway. China only lifted its “zero-Covid” policy in December, meaning the WTA hasn’t actually had to actively boycott the nation for that long.

The WTA should be certainly applauded for its original stance. It is rare to see an organisation stand up for its athletes in such a way, particularly when it comes to sexual assault. The reaction to such cases in the world of football shows exactly how often the issue is trivialised.

This also means that it was particularly disappointing to see the WTA’s position crumble, even if it was financially untenable. But the reality of the situation, as is seen right across sport, is that the countries with the most money and influence always have the last word, even if their human rights record is less than commendable.

It is easy to feel powerless in these situations, but there is always one thing that’s possible. Keep talking about it, and keep asking the difficult questions. This can be done for Peng Shuai, and is really the purpose behind this week’s newsletter. Don’t let the WTA’s return to China be obscured because it’s coincided with a quiet period of the season. Don’t let the organisation’s previous good work go to waste. Keep talking about Peng Shuai.

Winning Women

Celebrating the impressive achievements of female athletes across the world

• Simone Biles is back! The 26-year-old is currently competing at the World Gymnastics Championships, having taken a two-year break to focus on her mental health. As well as leading the US to a record seventh consecutive team world title, she made history by becoming the first woman to land a Yurchenko double pike vault, now renamed the Biles II. Biles is a true champion in my eyes, and I’m so glad to see her back.

• The Red Roses beat Canada 29-12 to seal victory in their Test series, having won the first encounter 50-24. Next up is Australia in their opening WXV match. Find out more about WXV, the new women’s rugby tournament.

• New Zealand edged a best-of-three netball series against England, winning the deciding match 59-52. England had narrowly won the first encounter 55-54, before the Silver Ferns levelled the series with a 57-36 victory.

• It was heartbreak for England at the World Deaf Football Championships, where they lost to Poland in the bronze medal match after exiting the tournament to the US in the semi-finals. But as pointed out here, this is a very impressive outcome when considering the team had to fundraise to get to the tournament in Malaysia, and had very little in the way of training sessions and warm-up matches. The US and Turkey will contest the final.

Bits and Bobs

Women’s sport news and content that you may have missed

• The Women’s Super League returned last week, and the Emirates ended up being my unhappy place as Arsenal lost to Liverpool. Nonetheless, it was amazing to be part of a WSL record attendance of 54,115! Kudos to Arsenal for this bespoke away kit for the women’s team, too. It will help the women’s team become a key revenue driver for the Gunners, all while maintaining the ‘one club mentality’ through the identical home kit.

• Elsewhere in football, Millie Bright took part in the first episode of Sky Sports Editions, a new YouTube series which showcases the original stories of women in sport, as told by the athletes themselves. The Women’s Super League and National Football Museum also announced a new partnership to increase the representation of women’s football memorabilia at the venue.

• Golf star Lexi Thompson will become just the seventh woman to contest a PGA Tour event, having received a sponsor invitation to the Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas. She will compete against 131 men at the tournament.

• Back to Simone Biles, I really enjoyed this interview with Olympics.com. She discusses her return to gymnastics after she started a global conversation about mental health in sport.

• A new version of Scrum Queens, the women’s rugby website, is launching soon. They’re looking for a network of partners to support content creators by creating a space to showcase work and be appropriately paid. More information here.

• The shortlists for the The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards 2023 have been announced, and voting is now open. There’s also a number of great interviews with some of the nominees on the website.

That’s all for today’s newsletter. If you enjoyed it, please share with your networks and anyone else you think may be interested. Thank you!