Indian Wells – WTA boss Steve Simon has no new information on the situation of tennis player Peng Shuai since the Olympic Games in China.
“I don’t think anything has changed since then. There has been no movement,” he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur on the sidelines of the WTA tournament in Indian Wells. “But we continue to work hard. It’s a situation that just needs time.” The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has been campaigning for months for the former world number one in doubles.
Disappeared for weeks after abuse allegations
The case of Peng Shuai has moved the world since the now 36-year-old posted allegations of sexual assault by a top Chinese politician on the social network Weibo in November. The post was deleted soon after and she disappeared from the scene. Peng Shuai later denied having made the allegations. However, her statements appeared contrived.
Since then, the WTA has been trying to get in touch with her directly. Because Shuai disappeared for weeks after the allegations, the WTA ended its business relations with China and no longer holds tournaments in the country.
There had been no progress in recent weeks, Simon said. “We have seen what the rest of the world has seen. But we haven’t had direct communication with it,” he said, renewing his call to the Chinese government, “It’s up to China to get some movement here. It’s up to them to do the right thing and deal with the allegations of sexual abuse.”
A long-term solution to the situation is “confirmation that she is free to live a normal and unencumbered life and an investigation into the situation,” Simon said. It was necessary to be able to understand what had happened.