Turin, Nov 20: The tennis world continues to demand to know the whereabouts and welfare of missing Chinese player Peng Shuai, who disappeared after accusing a former top Chinese official of sexually assaulting her.
On Friday the Women’s Tennis Association threatened to pull out of the lucrative Chinese part of its tour unless it is proved that Peng is safe.
WTA chairman Steve Simon told the BBC: “We cannot stand by compromises. This is a right and wrong issue.”
Men’s world number one Novak Djokovic backed that stance following his win over Cameron Norrie at the ATP Finals in Turin.
He said: “It’s important because this is horrifying. I mean, a person is missing.
“China is a huge country. It’s a very important part of the world especially for the WTA. They have many tournaments there. I mean, this is necessary for us to take whatever action.
“I heard just now that the WTA is willing to pull out from China with all the tournaments unless this is resolved. I support it 100 per cent.”
An employee of Chinese state TV has posted photos of missing tennis star Peng online in a new effort to dispel concern about her disappearance after she accused a senior leader of sexual assault.
The photos appeared Friday on Twitter, which cannot be seen by most internet users in China.
The state TV employee, Shen Shiwei, wrote they were on Peng’s account on the WeChat message service with the comment, “Happy Weekend.” (AP)
