INSIDER
Saudi Arabia will host the WTA Finals as part of a three-year deal with the women’s professional tennis tour that will increase the prize money for this November’s season-ending championship to a record $15.25 million.
A four-year absence of elite women’s tennis in China is set to end with the Women’s Tennis Association holding seven tournaments in the next six weeks as part of the tour’s Asian swing.
Major League Baseball was once so concerned about gambling it banned Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays just for working as casino greeters.
The women’s professional tennis tour will return to China later this year, ending a boycott instituted in late 2021 over concerns about the safety of former player Peng Shuai after she accused a high-ranking government official there of sexual assault.
Around the world, athletes are throwing their support behind political and social causes, part of a wave of sports activism that has flourished in the years since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began taking a knee during games to protest police brutality against Black people.
Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has given a controlled interview to French newspaper about the social media posting that sparked a storm of international concern over her well-being.
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied saying she was sexually assaulted, despite a November social media post attributed to her that accused a former top Communist Party official of forcing her into sex.
The stand the women's professional tennis tour is taking in China over concern about Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai's well-being could cost the WTA millions of dollars.
The head of the Women's Tennis Association says he remains “deeply concerned” about the whereabouts of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai and her ability to “communicate freely, openly and directly” after allegations that a powerful politician forced her to have sex.
The head of the women’s professional tennis tour is questioning the legitimacy of a retraction Chinese state media says was from a Grand Slam doubles champion who has accused a former top government official of sexual assault.
The head of the women’s professional tennis tour is calling for a full investigation of sexual assault allegations made by a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion from China against a former top government official in that country.
Chinese authorities have squelched virtually all online discussion of sexual assault accusations apparently made by a Chinese professional tennis star against a former top government official, showing how sensitive the ruling Communist Party is to such charges.
