ITF President David Haggerty assured of the safety of Shuai Peng as he calls China 'important market'

ITF president has confirmed that he was assured of the safety of Shuai Peng as China remains an important tennis market.

Haggerty spoke to Sky News admitting that it is his belief that the country should be allowed to stage events in the future because Peng is safe. Peng was presumed in danger when she briefly vanished in China after making claims of sexual assault against one of the country's highest-ranking government officials.

She was spotted since then but retains a very low profile in the country as she claimed that her public stance was a 'misunderstanding'. The WTA and ATP have banned events from China in response but the ITF is moving towards staging events in the future.

"I felt good with my conversation with Peng and… that's why I continue to stay in touch. It'd be nice to see her face to face and I'm looking forward to that, when I'm able to travel to China for the events, and when she's able to travel outside of China, as well."

Haggerty continued:

"So from my perspective, I think that tennis should be played, especially by juniors (in China). We want our sport to be able to develop and grow and China's a very, very important market."

When asked about a timeline, Haggerty admitted that there is no need to wait and events can return in 2023:

"The ITF feels that events can take place in China as the restrictions are now hopefully going to be lifted. In 2023, there will be junior events, senior events, our competitions taking place in China, when the COVID restrictions are relieved."