(Reuters) – The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said on Wednesday it has decided to suspend tournaments in China due to concerns over the safety of former doubles world number one Peng Shuai.
“I don’t see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault,” WTA Chief Executive Steve Simon said in a statement.
“Given the current state of affairs, I am also greatly concerned about the risks that all of our players and staff could face if we were to hold events in China in 2022.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
