By Tony Munroe

BEIJING (Reuters). – A public outcry over Peng Shuai’s location escalated Friday when the Women’s Tennis Association, WTA (WTA), stated that they would withdraw their tournaments in China if she did not respond to her allegations of sexual assault.

Former doubles world number one Peng has not been seen or heard from publicly since she said on Chinese social media in early November that former vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, coerced her into sex https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-tennis-star-peng-says-ex-vice-premier-forced-her-into-sex-2021-11-03 and they later had an on-off consensual relationship.

Zhang, as well as the Chinese government, have not commented on Peng’s allegations. Peng quickly removed her post on social media and the subject has been taken off China’s tightly censored Internet.

Concern https://www.reuters.com/article/tennis-china-peng-itf/tennis-itf-says-player-safety-top-priority-amid-concerns-over-chinas-peng-idINL1N2S91BO among the global tennis community and beyond has grown over Peng’s safety and whereabouts since her allegation, with the WTA calling for an investigation and the world’s top players, including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, tweeting #WhereIsPengShuai.

Steve Simon, chief executive of WTA, stated to U.S. media that the tour might consider pulling out tournaments in China worth millions of dollars.

In an interview with CNN, he stated that “We are definitely ready to pull our company and deal with any complications that may arise.”

Because this is certain, it’s bigger than the company. Respect for women is important, not being censored.

Hu Xijin is a highly connected Chinese state media editor who commented on the scandal early Friday morning on Twitter (NYSE.) and said that he didn’t believe she was the victim of retribution.

Hu Xijin on Twitter, editor of Global Times said, “As a Chinese person, I don’t believe Peng Shuai received retaliation.

Global Times is published in China by the People’s Daily of the Communist Party. Hu is also active on Twitter (which is banned in China). He made no similar comments via his Weibo (NASDAQ) account, China’s equivalent to Twitter.

As China prepares to host Winter Olympics Beijing in February, there are calls for boycott from international rights groups over China’s human rights records.

International Olympic Committee (IOC), stated it wouldn’t comment.

A spokesperson for the IOC stated, “Experience shows quiet diplomacy provides the best opportunity to solve questions of this nature.” This is why the IOC won’t comment further at this point.

U.S. Representative Jim Banks of Indiana said he has written https://twitter.com/RepJimBanks/status/1461434960531922950?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet to U.S. President Joe Biden about Peng’s disappearance, urging him to raise her case with China and to warn Beijing it could have a negative impact on the Winter Olympics.

On Wednesday, WTA’s Simon cast doubt on an email https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/wtas-simon-voices-concern-over-statement-attributed-peng-2021-11-18, which was also released by a Chinese state media outlet on Twitter, purporting to be from Peng and denying the allegations of sexual assault.

“It is hard to believe Peng Shuai sent the email that we got,” he stated.

According to BrandMentions, hashtag analysis site BrandMentions, #WhereIsPengShuai has racked up more than 32 million mentions of the hashtag on Facebook.

The topic is, however, heavily controlled in China’s highly restricted cyberspace. Although its official Weibo account was still available, no searches were made for WTA’s official account. Peng’s Weibo username continues to show no results.

A few Chinese users still took to Weibo to express their gratitude for the release of statements by tennis players Williams and Novak Djokovic. One user said: “Thank you so much for your openness!”