By Sudipto Ganguly

MELBOURNE (Reuters – The fans can freely wear the slogan “Where is Peng Shuai?” Shirts are allowed at the Australian Open. However, they should not be disruptive,” Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley stated to Reuters. He was responding to critics of Grand Slam organizers’ prior stance.

After a Saturday video was posted to social media showing security personnel instructing supporters to get rid of shirts that had the slogan, the Melbourne Park Tournament governing body stated that political statements are not allowed.

Martina Navratilova referred to this as “cowardly” because she said that Australian Open organizers gave in China and put sponsorship money above human rights concerns.

Tiley said by phone that he believes there is a lot miscommunication.

A T-shirt that says something will not have an impact on safety. However, if they begin to get together in a group and become disruptive in any form or manner, it’s something else.

If they come in to play tennis, and have a shirt that reads “Where is Peng Shuai?”‘, that’s fine.”

Peng became concerned when Zhang Gaoli, a former Chinese vice prime minister, allegedly abused Peng in the past. For nearly three weeks, Peng was not visible to the public after this post.

Peng claimed last month she hadn’t accused anybody of sexually assaulting or threatening her. She also said that the social media posting she made was misunderstood.

Zhang didn’t comment.

A Chinese spokesperson for the foreign ministry stated Monday, in reference to Peng shirts at Melbourne Park that such behavior was “unpopular” and would not be accepted.

Tiley claimed that the security team took the necessary steps to stop the intruder last weekend because they were suspicious of “the motives and intentions”

Tiley stated that if they come on-site to disrupt the safety and comfort of our fans specifically, we won’t accept them.”

They will have to get rid of the banner if it’s a pole-mounted banner that blocks people’s view of tennis.

They will be taken off the site if they are persistent. However, if anyone wants to support Peng Shuai or wear a Tshirt that supports Peng Shuai, it’s okay.

Peng fans in Australia announced Monday that they would be handing out 1000 ‘Where’s Peng Shuai’ T-shirts. This week, T-shirts will be handed out at Melbourne Park by Peng supporters after they raised more than A$10,000 via a GoFundMe campaign.

The Women’s Tennis Association has suspended tournaments https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/wta-suspends-tournaments-china-over-peng-shuai-situation-2021-12-01 in China due to its concerns over Peng’s safety and Tiley said Tennis Australia backed their stance.

He said, “Right from the start when Peng Shuai was unknown to be whereabouts, we collaborated closely with WTA to use our resources in this region to support the WTA.”

“From the very beginning, we were concerned for Peng Shuai’s health and wanted to ensure she is okay. Although she has made statements in the past, we still support the WTA on this issue.