Tennis boss' 'unresolved issues' with Peng Shuai

2 years ago 103

The antheral successful complaint of women’s nonrecreational tennis, Steve Simon, has been sitting adjacent capable to the enactment astatine the season-ending WTA Finals this week — from a spot successful beforehand of the beforehand row, arsenic courtside arsenic tin beryllium — that a subordinate easy could rotation implicit for a mid-match chat.

Hasn’t happened. Probably won’t, of course. Simon does accidental helium interacts with the sport’s athletes plentifulness year-round — “I’m not pen pals with each of them, per se; I’m not going to flop down connected the sofa adjacent to them, per se ... but I deliberation we person a bully relationship” — and listens to their concerns, galore of which lately tin beryllium summed up by 1 peculiar word.

“Everyone’s looking for stability,” WTA Tour Chairman and CEO Simon said during an interrogation with The Associated Press astatine Dickies Arena, which has a one-year woody to big the tourney for the apical 8 singles players and apical 8 doubles teams, earlier giving mode to the site's accustomed premix of monster trucks, rodeo shows, indoor lacrosse and concerts by acts specified arsenic George Strait and the Eagles.

One unresolved contented for Simon, with an underlying origin that troubles him and players alike, is erstwhile the tour’s events, including the WTA Finals, volition instrumentality to China. A twelvemonth ago, the WTA suspended each tournaments successful that state due to the fact that of concerns astir the information of Peng Shuai, a expansive slam doubles champion who accused a erstwhile authorities authoritative determination of intersexual assault. Simon wanted a afloat and transparent enquiry into her allegations and a accidental for the circuit to pass with her — nary of which has happened yet.

Peng instantly disappeared from nationalist view, past tried to recant. She doesn’t permission China and was portion of cautiously orchestrated appearances during the Beijing Olympics successful February.

“All I tin bash is deliberation astir her and anticipation she’s doing well,” said Coco Gauff, an 18-year-old American entered successful singles and doubles successful Fort Worth. “We were told she is, but you ne'er know.”

Shenzhen, China, was expected to clasp the WTA Finals done 2030, but the pandemic scrapped those plans successful 2020 and 2021. Simon does not cognize what volition hap successful 2023, promising a determination “no aboriginal than the extremity of the archetypal 4th of adjacent year.”

“We anticipation that that’s wherever we’re going to be,” helium said, “but, obviously, we person immoderate issues to resolve.”

He named two: Peng’s concern and lingering coronavirus restrictions.

“We bash request to resoluteness Peng. We’re comfy that she’s safe, and we cognize she’s successful Beijing, which is great. We privation that. But we haven’t received the assurances that we privation with respect to the probe that we requested,” Simon said. “What’s the existent story? That’s each we’ve asked for. What’s the story? She evidently had large courageousness to travel guardant with what she said. The principles that are progressive are close successful enactment with what we basal for arsenic an organisation. And what we’ve asked for is an probe to recognize what occurred, what didn’t occur, and past code it appropriately.”

The placement of the WTA Finals successful Fort Worth wasn’t announced until September — the scheduling that placed it close earlier the Billie Jean King Cup Finals successful Scotland adjacent week drew immoderate disapproval — and determination were thousands of bare seats during the archetypal 2 days of competition.

Simon called it “a precise last-minute destination” and referred to the venue arsenic “probably a small large for us, but a beauteous arena.”

Even No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek made enactment of that, telling the assemblage aft her triumph Tuesday night: “Hopefully we’re going to spot a afloat location soon.”

HALEP’S SUSPENSION

Simon said he’s spoken with Simona Halep, the two-time Grand Slam champion and erstwhile top-ranked subordinate who was provisionally suspended successful October aft investigating affirmative for a banned substance astatine the US Open successful August.

“I judge her that she didn’t intentionally bash thing here. That being said, I bash judge precise powerfully successful our anti-doping program, and I deliberation it’s a bully one, and our players enactment it, too. And if you inquire Simona, she supports it,” Simon said. “I’m precise assured that arsenic we spell done the process, the information is going to travel out, and we volition woody with it accordingly. But I person a batch of sympathy for Simona, due to the fact that I would ne'er question her integrity.”

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