The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will not stand in solidarity with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in boycotting tournaments in China.
The WTA last week announced it will suspend all events in China in protest over the disappearance of international tennis star Peng Shuai.
The doubles champion hasn’t been seen publicly since early November, after she took to social media to accuse a Chinese government official of rape.
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The sporting world has come together to demand Shuai is seen and heard from aside from the bizarre photo which was released from China a fortnight ago attempting to convince the world she was fine.
ITF president David Haggerty, though, says the governing body is not prepared to abandon Chinese tennis altogether.
“You have to remember that the ITF is the governing body of the sport worldwide, and one of the things that we are responsible for is grassroots development,” he told BBC.
“We don’t want to punish a billion people, so we will continue to run our junior events in the country and our senior events that are there for the time being.”
The ITF had released a statement a few days prior to Haggerty’s appearance.
“The International Tennis Federation, as the governing body of tennis, stands in support of all women’s rights,” it said.
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“Our primary concern remains Peng Shuai’s wellbeing. The allegations Peng made must be addressed.
“We will continue to support all efforts being made to that end, both publicly and behind the scenes.”
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