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Tennis fans expressed disappointment at the ATP for not showing support for Peng Shuai and canceling tournaments in China for the same. The ATP canceled the China Swing for the 2022 tennis season, citing restrictions relating to COVID-19 in the country as the reason behind the cancelation. The Chinese tennis swing has been scrapped for a third year running since the pandemic began.
In late 2021, the WTA announced the suspension of all professional women's tennis tournaments in China, stating that the sexual assault allegations of WTA player Peng Shuai towards a Chinese government official had not been taken seriously. Peng Shuai subsequently disappeared from the public eye for some time.
The ATP has not followed suit, and while they eventually announced the cancelation of all events in the country, it was solely due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation in China.
Many fans on social media reacted to the development.
"They should have done it for shuai peng, disgusting," a fan wrote on Twiiter.
Meanwhile, the ATP's recent decision to cancel the China swing also includes the scrapping of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, a Masters 1000 event. As replacements for the canceled events, six new ATP 250 tournaments have been given single-year licenses this season. There will be just eight Masters 1000 events this year as no replacement was announced for the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
"I mean, you even had the opportunity to lie & say it was about Peng Shuai and not because China is a COVID-dictatorship & you still pass," said another fan.
Here are some more reactions to the cancelation of the 2022 Chinese ATP tennis swing:
Why the WTA canceled tournaments in China due to the Peng Shuai controversy
Late last year, Shuai posted a statement with the assault allegations on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. Soon after, her comments were removed from the internet and the issue was censored in the country. The tennis player went missing from the public eye for a few days, causing huge controversy in the international and tennis community.
She was eventually seen in multiple public appearances, including at a restaurant in China, at a kids' tennis tournament, and on a video call with the IOC. However, the WTA was not convinced that Peng Shuai was acting on her own accord and believed she lacked freedom of expression.
After concluding that the matter had not been handled well by Chinese officials and expressing doubts about Shuai's safety, the WTA decided to scrap all tennis tournaments in China for the foreseeable future.
"Unfortunately, the leadership in China has not addressed this very serious issue in any credible way. While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation," WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said in a statement in early December 2021.
"With the full support of the WTA Board of Directors, I am announcing the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong," he added.
The two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai has made very few public appearances since the controversy.
