“This is a very important moment for the WTA’s business and history.” “(WTA Chairman and CEO) Steve Simon’s statement made it clear that they need to fully support Peng Shuai. “How this all that unfolds it is very difficult to say at this point but decisions will have to be made,” Allaster said. The Finals were cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved this year to Guadalajara, Mexico but the WTA has said it will return to Shenzhen from 2022 until 2030. Then Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli pictured in 2016. The season-ending WTA Finals had a prize purse of $US14 million ($A19m) in 2019 when it was played in Shenzhen for the first time. “This is not a diplomatic question,” he added.Īllaster would know better than most about the challenges of engaging with Chinese officials having served as the WTA’s chairman and CEO from 2009-15, a period that saw women’s tennis make a massive push into the China market.Ĭhina has been the focus of the WTA’s expansion over the last decade and hosted nine tournaments in 2019 with a total of $US30.4 million ($A41.3m) prize money on offer. Credit: GettyĪsked about Peng Shuai, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “I have not heard of the issue you raised.” “It is tough and it also is tough for this very courageous young woman that has broken her silence and come forward with these allegations.” Peng Shuai has not been seen since she made the accusations two weeks ago.
TENNIS WORLD TOUR FINALS DRAW PROFESSIONAL
“Our sport is focusing on the health and safety of Peng Shuai, business is secondary,” Stacey Allaster, now chief executive, professional tennis for the USTA, told Reuters on Monday. The 35-year-old said in the post, which was deleted about half an hour after it was published on November 2, that she could provide no evidence to back her allegations.Ĭoncerns among the global tennis community have grown as Peng, the first Chinese player to top the world rankings when she was doubles No.1 in 2014, has not been seen since the post. Peng, a former top-ranked doubles player and one of China’s biggest sporting stars, alleged on her Weibo account that Zhang Gaoli, who was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee coerced her into sex and they later had an on-off consensual relationship. The men’s singles draw can be found here.įollow us on Instagram for additional exclusive content.As the WTA and ATP Tour seasons draw to a close this week with finals in Mexico and Italy, the tennis spotlight has focused on China with the WTA calling on the Chinese government to investigate allegations of sexual assault made by Peng against a former vice premier. If Ito is able to maintain her seeding, she faces a potential Olympic rematch with Sun Yingsha in the semi-finals. Wang has a 3-2 record against Ito but lost their most recent match-up 4-3 at the 2020 ITTF Grant Tour finals. The most precarious semi-final spot for China would be Wang Yidi‘s spot, as she needs to advance past Japan’s Hina Hayata and Mima Ito.
The women’s singles draw is far more balanced in favor of China compared to the men’s singles draw, as China can conceivably sweep the semi-finals positions. ( Click here for a zoomed in image if you are on mobile).
TENNIS WORLD TOUR FINALS DRAW FULL
The full preliminary draw can be found here. Please note that the draw below is NOT the round of 16, as all the players below must win the preliminary rounds first. The draw for the top 16 seeds for the women’s singles event in the World Table Tennis Championships is posted below.
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