China opposes ‘politicisation of sports,’ as WTA suspends tourneys over Peng Shuai

China’s Peng Shuai in action during a first-round match against Japan’s Nao Hibino at the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 21, 2020. REUTERS 

SHANGHAI (Reuters): China declared opposition to “politicisation of sports” on Thursday, after the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) suspended tournaments in the country following star player Peng Shuai’s accusations of sexual assault against a former vice premier.

Unconvinced by Peng’s public appearances since the scandal first broke a month ago, the WTA said it wants assurances of Peng’s well-being and has called for an investigation into the accusations levelled by the former world number one doubles player against former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli.

It also cited concerns over the safety of other players.

The stance taken by the WTA comes at a sensitive time for China, as Beijing is preparing to host the Winter Olympics next February, and global rights groups and others have called for a boycott in protest against China’s human rights record.

When asked about the matter at a regular briefing, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin did not directly comment on the WTA’s move but said China “opposes the politicisation of sports”.The International Olympic Committee said in a statement on Thursday that it had held a second video call with Peng, having held the first late last month.

“We share the same concern as many other people and organisations about the wellbeing and safety of Peng Shuai. This is why, just yesterday, an IOC team held another video call with her,” the IOC said.

Beijing has remained largely silent over the scandal and authorities have blocked discussions of the topic on China’s heavily-censored internet.

Instead, the Global Times newspaper, a nationalistic English-language tabloid, published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily, took aim at the WTA in an editorial on Thursday, accusing it of “bringing politics into women’s tennis” and of being a “lever of Western public opinion”.

The editorial, posted on the newspaper’s account on Twitter account - which is not available in China - called the WTA “betrayers of the Olympic spirit” and said that “some forces in the West are instigating a boycott against the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.”

The US-headquartered tour’s decision to walk away from one of its biggest markets was applauded by many leading figures in the tennis world but could cost the WTA hundreds of millions of dollars in broadcasting and sponsorship revenue.