Women’s tennis tour ends Peng Shuai-inspired China boycott
Associated PressThe women’s professional tennis tour will bring its events back to China later this year, announcing on Thursday the end of a boycott instituted in late 2021 over concerns about the safety of former player Peng Shuai after she accused a high-ranking government official there of sexual assault. WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said in an interview with The Associated Press that while what he sought was never delivered — a chance for someone from the tour to meet with Peng, along with a full and transparent investigation into the Grand Slam doubles champion’s accusations — the decision was made, with input from player and tournament representatives, to return to the country. By returning, hopefully more progress can be made.” Although there have been no reports of Peng sightings in public since carefully orchestrated appearances during the Beijing Olympics in February 2022, Simon said the WTA has “received assurances from people who are close to her, that we’ve been in contact with, that she is safe and living with her family in Beijing.” He added that the tour has been assured by the Chinese Tennis Association, the sport’s national governing body, that “there won’t be any issues with our athletes or our staff while they’re competing within the region.” He called the change in course “an organizational decision” and noted: “The great majority of the athletes were supportive and wanted to see a return. The ATP men’s tennis tour and the International Tennis Federation, which oversees the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup along with lower-level tournaments for individual players, recently said they would resume operations in China after staying away because of COVID-19.