Peng Shuai: ITF says will not 'punish 1.4 bn people' by cancelling tournaments in China

While the world has ramped up criticism against China over the silencing of its tennis star Peng Shuai’s sexual assault allegations, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has said that it will not cancel any tournament in the mainland over concerns for the player. 

In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, ITF president David Haggerty noted that Peng’s allegations against former vice-premier of China, Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her should be investigated, however, he said the organisation would not pull out from China over the issue because it does not want to “punish 1.4 billion people”. 

The world governing body for tennis, the ITF is facing calls to join the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in suspending all tournaments in China over the Communist Party government’s refusal to give assurances of Peng’s wellbeing. China’s tennis star’s safety has become a matter of global concern after she disappeared from public for at least 18 days following her 1,600-word post on social media which was removed within 30 minutes. Her allegations against Zhang have not been investigated which prompted WTA to suspend all tournaments in China including Hong Kong. 

On Sunday, Haggerty told BBC Sport that peng’s allegations need to be looked into and they would continue to work to reach that resolution. But, he made it evident that ITF will not follow WTA. He told the media outlet, “You have to remember that the ITF is the governing body of the sport worldwide, and one of the things that we are responsible for is grassroots development.”

“We don’t want to punish a billion people, so we will continue to run our junior events in the country and our senior events that are there for the time being,” Haggerty added. 

ITF said it supports women's rights

ITF president’s remarks came after a short statement was released by the world governing body of the sport following a board meeting. The statement published on 2 December had said, “The International Tennis Federation, as the governing body of tennis, stands in support of all women’s rights.”

“Our primary concern remains Peng Shuai’s wellbeing. The allegations Peng made must be addressed. We will continue to support all efforts being made to that end, both publicly and behind the scenes,” it added. 

(IMAGE: AP)