Zheng and Maria comment on the situation surrounding Peng Shuai

At the WTA tournament in Stuttgart, Qinwen Zheng comments on her missing compatriot Peng Shuai. The 20-year-old looks confused.

The worrying situation surrounding Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai is still causing an uproar on the WTA tour.

After Shuai went missing for weeks in late 2021 following allegations of sexual assault on a social network against a Chinese politician, information about her safety leaked out hesitantly. The WTA tour decided that it no longer wanted to hold tournaments in the Asian country, and this decision was overturned on Thursday.

As part of the WTA tournament in Stuttgart, compatriot Qinwen Zheng was asked about the situation surrounding compatriot Shuai after her opening win on Monday, and visibly tried to squirm around making a clear statement. In the end, though, she said, “I think she’s doing pretty well in China and has a normal life.”

In the aftermath, the world number 25 added. but mitigating: “But to be honest, I don’t know how she’s doing. I focus more on myself.”

When asked if she was in direct contact with Shuai, Zheng said, “I’ve never spoken to her in my life.”

As a detailed justification, she explained the various career stages: While Zheng is only 20 years old at the beginning of her career, the former double ranking list leader Shuai is already 37 years old. In general, Zheng spends a lot of time with her team and does not talk to other players about the incident that happened around her compatriot.

After the 6:4, 6:4 in the first round against the American Alycia Parks, Zheng now meets the top seed Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart.

Despite the admission of the WTA tour that the tournament boycott in China did not achieve all goals, they will return there in the fall.

The WTA would not have met Shuai herself, but “we had contact with people who are close to Peng, and we were assured that she lives safely with her family in Beijing,” said the WTA Communication.

The German Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria still finds it extremely important to continue to shed light on the case: “In any case, I think it’s important that we talk about Peng Shuai and that everyone takes care that it’s her goes well.”

However, she welcomes the option of further tournaments in China on a sporting level: “The option with China is good for us players that we have more tournaments and options again. There haven’t been many tournaments in recent years.”

Tatjana Maria plays against Ylena In-Albon from Switzerland in Stuttgart on Tuesday.