WTA keeps China out of 2023 calendar after Peng Shuai controversy
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Peng Shuai- FirstSportz
WTA announced its provisional calendar for the upcoming 2023 year to mark the 50th anniversary season of the women’s Tour. As per the recently released calendar, the season schedule has been released until the 2023 US Open with the later part of the schedule to be out later. But the one thing that drew attention was the fact that there are no matches scheduled in China.
The women’s federation decided not to host any matches in China in 2022 after Peng Shuai’s controversy. The Chinese player had accused the former Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her for years in November 2021. But her sudden disappearance after the allegation was considered suspicious but appeared again after two weeks to deny all the accusations with no signs of a probable return.
The 2023 year starts with the United Cup in Australia simultaneously with a WTA500 event in Adelaide and WTA250 in Auckland. The Chairman and CEO of the women’s Federation released a statement where they expressed their excitement to showcase the amazing events as they targeted the global audience with tournaments scheduled in six continents and over 20 countries.
The women’s authorities have hosted new tournaments in Austin, Mexico, Texas, and Merida in February. The first three quarters include events spread across Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome, Montreal, and Cincinnati. The new schedule that consists of 10 WTA 500 tournaments and 24 WTA 250 events. The intentions of the Women’s Federation authorities are very clear as it stands firm on its decision not to host any tournaments in China.
Netflix is likely to bid for the WTA streaming rights in the UK after the previous deal with Amazon Prime terminates after 2023
WTA matches are streamed by Amazon Prime Video but it is likely to lose its broadcasting rights after the conclusion of the year 2023. It has already lost its streaming rights for the North American swing, especially the US Open to Sky channel. With the termination of the deal, broadcasting of women’s matches has been a major concern.
Now, as per some latest reports, Netflix could likely be one of the potential bidders to acquire the streaming rights in the UK. However, ATP has declined the request to broadcast the men’s matches in the UK on one of the famous entertainment platforms.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)