ITF won't follow WTA in banning tennis events in China says ITF President

The WTA reacted harshly towards China in an effort to resolve the Peng Shuai situation but that move won't be followed by the ITF.

Similar to the ATP, ITF took a more measured approach in a move that was widely criticized by the media. The governing body of tennis, the International Tennis Foundation (ITF), has not suspended tournaments in China because it "does not want to punish a billion people," its president said Sunday. The comment was made during an interview with BBC Sport where Davis Haggarty said:

"We stand[s] in support of all women's rights and we continue to work behind the scenes and directly to bring this to resolution. But you have to remember that the ITF is the governing body of the sport worldwide, and one of the things that we are responsible for is grassroots development."

He continued:

"We don't want to punish a billion people, so we will continue to run our junior events in the country and our senior events that are there for the time being."

It remains to be seen how the community reacts to this news but widespread support is not expected. Haggarty has a fair point in what he is arguing but it remains to be seen whether their behind-the-scenes work does help bring a resolution to the matter. So far, it has not.