T-shirts and banners showing support for Peng Shuai were seized at the Australian Open, which has come under criticism for the organization. The Chinese tennis star was missing for several weeks at the end of last year after she accused the former deputy prime minister of China of sexual abuse.
Former tennis star Martina Navratilova has strongly criticized the organization of the Australian Open for banning statements of support for Peng Shuai. “This is just pathetic,” said the eighteen-time grand slam winner. ‘The Australian tennis federation is capitulated at their own grand slam, to the Chinese dictatorship, I think that’s really weak.’
Video images appeared on Tiktok last Saturday showing how visitors to the Australian Open had to remove T-shirts and banners that read ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’. The Chinese tennis star was not heard from for a while in November after she accused former Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli of sexual abuse online. It led to growing concerns in the tennis world about the well-being of the 36-year-old tennis star.
After nearly three weeks of silence, Peng released a statement saying she had never accused anyone of sexual abuse and that it was just a misunderstanding. The authenticity of her statement has been questioned.
According to the organization of the Australian Open, visitors had to remove them because ‘commercial and political expressions’ are not allowed at Melbourne Park. Navratilova thinks that’s nonsense. ‘This is not a political statement, but a statement for human rights.’
French tennis player Nicolas Mahut says the Australian Open, which has China as its major sponsor, had the statements of support removed for commercial reasons. “What if they hadn’t had Chinese sponsors,” he responded.
