Tennis Australia Banned ‘Where Is Peng Shuai’ Shirts From The Australian Open And Here’s Why
Peng Shuai is not competing in this year's Australian Open, and advocates are concerned for her wellbeing.
One thousand shirts emblazoned with the message “Where Is Peng Shuai?” will be handed out at the Australian Open this week after Tennis Australia banned kicked out two spectators for wearing the shirt and carrying a matching banner over the weekend.
Two-time major champion and tennis legend Peng Shuai made headlines last year after she came forward with allegations of sexual assault against former Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli. The social media post was only live for a matter of minutes before being deleted, and Shuai temporarily disappeared from the public eye shortly thereafter.
Tennis Australia has since banned the shirts, citing Peng Shuai’s safety as its “primary concern”. But there’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s start from the beginning.
What Was The Allegation?
In a lengthy post made on Chinese social media platform Weibo on November 2, Shuai alleged she was in a secret relationship with Gaoli, which began when he allegedly took her back to his house three years ago to “coerce” or “force” her to have sex with him. You can read a full English translation of the post here.
Due to differences in translation — and everything that happened after the post was made — the grey area remains whether she was “forced” into sex, or whether it was coercion and she eventually agreed to the encounter, with different Chinese language experts interpreting the post in different ways.
Speaking with the ABC, Dr Delia Lin, an associate professor of Chinese studies at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, explained it was the interpretation of ‘逼’ that was the grey area.
“It is quite strong word,” she told the ABC. “So I think the use of that word would, especially with the Chinese social media audience who read the original post in Chinese would make people feel that she did all that under duress, and she didn’t want this to happen.
“[They had sex], but later on, and then she developed this genuine love for him.”
Regardless, the essay clearly alleged some level of coercion or force.
The Response
Following the post’s deletion from social media, Peng disappeared from the public eye for more than two weeks, prompting major tennis stars like Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka to demand to know her whereabouts out of fear for her safety.
. #WhereIsPengShuai pic.twitter.com/51qcyDtzLq
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) November 16, 2021
As a result of the situation, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced it would suspend future tournaments in China, while human rights organisations called for diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The Misinterpretation
In late December, Peng Shuai finally broke her silence, denying any allegations of being sexually assaulted by a former high-ranking government official.
“I wanted to make this very clear: I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me,” Peng said in an interview with Singapore publication Lianhe Zaobao — a Chinese language publication owned by state-controlled Singapore Press Holdings Limited. “With regards to Weibo, it’s about my personal privacy…There’s been a lot of misunderstanding…There [should be] no distorted interpretation.”
Australian Open 2022
Peng Shuai is noticeably absent from this year’s Australian Open — which is currently underway in Melbourne — but that doesn’t mean she has been forgotten.
Two fans were asked to remove clothing and banners asking “Where Is Peng Shuai?” before entering venues in a decision that has been heavily criticised by the community including tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
That’s just pathetic. The @wta stands pretty much alone on this!!!#WhereisPengShuai https://t.co/V9g2GZh5Px
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 23, 2022
In a statement provided to the ABC, Tennis Australia defended its decision, noting that it does not allow any political slogans to be worn at events.
“Under our ticket conditions of entry, we don’t allow clothing, banners or signs that are commercial or political,” it said. “Peng Shuai’s safety is our primary concern. We continue to work with the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) and global tennis community to seek more clarity on her situation and will do everything we can to ensure her wellbeing.”
The Response
Despite Tennis Australia banning the slogan from the event, activists are not backing down and — instead — have raised $10,000 to print even more merchandise, operating under the idea of ‘well, they can’t stop all of us.’
“We’re printing 1,000 t-shirts and we can see how many match-goers that they can stop,” activist Max Mok told ABC Radio.