Steve Simon, the CEO of the WTA Tour, called Sunday for Chinese authorities to investigate allegations of sexual assault made by Chinese women’s tennis star Peng Shuai against Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier of China.

Simon also called for an end to official Chinese censorship on the subject.

“Obviously she displayed tremendous courage going public,” Simon said of Peng. “Now we want to make sure we’re moving forward to a place where a full and transparent investigation is conducted. Anything else, I think, is an affront to not only our players but to all women.”

Simon’s comments could endanger the tour’s extensive business relationship with China, where the WTA has 11 tournaments and a lucrative, long-term deal to hold its tour finals in Shenzhen.

“I think everybody fully understands what’s at stake here on many different fronts as we’re going through it,” Simon said. He added, “I think we’re certainly, from players to board to council, fully united that the only acceptable approach is that of doing what is right.”

Peng was once ranked No. 1 in doubles and as high as No. 14 in singles, reaching the U.S. Open singles semifinals in 2014. She has not competed on tour since February 2020, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic shut it down for several months.

Peng, 35, made the allegations against Zhang, 75, on Nov. 2 on her verified account on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. She said she met Zhang earlier in her career and had a consensual relationship with him. She said he sexually assaulted her shortly after he stepped down as one of China’s top leaders in 2017.

Peng acknowledged in the post that she could not produce evidence to substantiate her accusation, suggesting that Zhang had been intent on keeping their relationship secret. Her post was taken down within 30 minutes, and searches of her name appeared to be blocked in China as did, temporarily, searches for “tennis.”

Peng has not made any public statements since the post was removed, and there have been concerns in the tennis community and beyond for Peng’s safety.

“We’ve received confirmation from several sources, including the Chinese Tennis Association, that she is safe and not under any physical threat,” Simon said.

But Simon said that no one associated with the WTA Tour had been able to reach her directly to confirm her status.

(New York Times News Service)