Activists to reignite ‘Where is Peng Shuai’ controversy at Australian Open 2023 with the support of Martina Navratilova
Protestors have planned to distribute as many as 1000 printed T-shirts with the message 'Where is Peng Shuai' at Australian Open 2023.
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Martina Navratilova
The controversy surrounding Chinese tennis star, Peng Shuai’s sudden disappearance sparked a huge roar in 2021. Activists have now planned to revisit the situation by selling printed shirts with the slogan- ‘Where is Peng Shuai’ at the 2023 Australian Open. Tennis Australian banned the T-shirts this year, citing commercial and political issues.
Peng Shuai sudden disappearance in 2021 occurred just a couple of weeks after she accused a senior politician of sexual assault. One of the protestors, Drew Pavlou is clearly unhappy with Tennis Australia’s ties with Chinese companies, which has a conflict of interest. The group of activists has received support from former American tennis great, Martina Navratilova. The protestors have stated that they plan to hand out around 1,000 T-shirts at the Australian Open.
“I support the protests. The Women’s Tennis Association is the only one that has actually tried to do something [about Peng Shuai],” said Navratilova. Martina Navratilova is no stranger to making her voice heard loud and clear, and she has done just the same this time around as well.
“They are going to have these political problems on their hands for the next few years,” Protestors warn Tennis Australia of upcoming troubles
The group of protestors have already warned Tennis Australia of what lies ahead in the next couple of years. Drew Pavlou has claimed that Tennis Australia’s ties with Chinese companies has further increased the tensions.
“Unfortunately for them, they are going to have these political problems on their hands for the next few years,” said Pavlou. We are just not going to allow that tension and that contradiction to go unnoticed and we are going to make trouble for Tennis Australia.“
CEO of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley had mentioned that the protestors would be allowed to continue wearing the T-shirts if they co-operated with the authorities. The statement came in aftermath of the ban, which was imposed at the Australian Open 2022. “Yes, as long as they are not coming as a mob to be disruptive but are peaceful. t’s all been a bit lost in translation from some people who are not here and don’t really know the full view,” said Tiley.
Keeping in view the entire situation, WTA has also called off all its tournaments in China. The protestors have made their voices heard this year, with similar ‘Where is Peng Shuai’ T-shirts being worn at Wimbledon as well.
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Nirmit Mehta
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