Tennis’s support for Peng Shuai has turned to dust with WTA’s China U-turn

As recently as the beginning of March, the conditions set forth by the Women’s Tennis Association for a return to China were piercingly clear: the Tour would not stage any further tournaments in the country until the WTA was able to directly contact Peng Shuai and a transparent investigation was conducted into her claims of sexual assault against the former Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli.

Steve Simon, the WTA’s chief executive, often divides opinion but in a difficult period for the organisation, his backbone and the consistency of his message in response to Peng’s Weibo post in November 2021 had received plaudits.

That message has crumbled to dust. The WTA’s decision to return to China is clearly a U-turn and a dramatic departure on its previous approach.

It was also predictable. Despite the positive response Simon and the WTA have received for being essentially the only sport to make a reasonable stand against China, many had also digested Simon’s stance with a healthy amount of scepticism.

As strong as its message was, the WTA’s boycott of China occurred at a time when international sporting events were not taking place in China due to the country’s strict Covid-19 protocols. In 2022, the WTA waited until late in the season to confirm its autumn calendar, meaning a late scramble to find a venue for the WTA Finals, which was eventually held in Fort Worth, Texas.

This year was the first that the WTA would have had to actively boycott tournaments held in China. Instead they have returned at the first opportunity.

It is no surprise that the WTA could not stay away from a country with which it has become intertwined. Twelve years ago, when Li Na became China’s first grand slam champion by winning the 2011 French Open,