Thursday, March 28

“Where is Peng Shuai?”: Controversy at the Australian Open over shirts in favor of the Chinese tennis player

The organization of the Australian Tennis Open has removed the ban on protest shirts in favor of the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai after the controversy triggered last week after the authorities asked a group of spectators to remove them. The garment in question shows an image of the player accompanied by the phrase: “Where is Peng Shuai?”.

Tournament Director Craig Tiley has reported to the Associated Press news agency that people will be able to wear the shirts as long as they don’t create problems for other spectators. “If they want to do it, that’s fine,” she said. “If someone comes with the intention of disturbing the safety and comfort of our fans, they are not welcome. It cannot be that people feel insecure because there is a large group of people who use [el torneo] as a platform to cast your vision on an issue.

Former number one player Martina Navratilova responded to the ban by saying it was “pathetic”. French tennis player Nicolas Mahut has also criticized the organization of the tournament, suggesting that they were bowing to pressure from big Chinese sponsors. “What’s going on? What a lack of courage! What if you didn’t have Chinese sponsors?”

For its part, the organization responded by claiming that the clothing violated its rules on “political messages.” “To ensure that the Australian Open remains an inclusive and safe event for all, we have a policy of not allowing commercial or political posters, clothing or signage.” Subsequently, the Australian Tennis Federation claimed that Peng Shuai’s safety is their main concern.

As a result of the incident, a crowdfunding campaign on Gofundme to print a thousand T-shirts with the slogan and give them away to the spectators who attend the women’s final of the Australian Open. The campaign has already received $19,116.

In November, the Chinese tennis player posted a statement on social media accusing former Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli of sexual harassment. She subsequently disappeared from the public eye for days, only to reappear later during an interview in which she denied making any such accusations, claiming that her statement had been misconstrued. Shortly before, Chinese media published a letter from Peng in which she said she was “well and resting” and public television had broadcast images of her on a track with children and in which she appeared waving. However, there are still many doubts about her well-being.





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