A man claiming to be an associate of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has made a series of allegations against the WTA, claiming the tennis governing body has been ignoring the doubles Grand Slam champion.
Ding Li, who claims to be a "long-time friend" of Shuai, posted what he says is a screenshot of Shuai’s email which was sent to the WTA on Twitter. In the tweet he tagged multiple tennis governing bodies, as well as two accounts belonging to the International Olympic Committee. On November 20th he posted a video of Shuai in a restaurant which he also attended in Beijing.
According to Ding, Shuai’s purported email asked the WTA not to ‘hype up’ her personal affairs. This is the second time a copy of an email said to be written by Shuai has been leaked online. The first was published by CGTN which is the international branch of China’s state-run broadcaster CCTV.
The BBC contacted Ding following his latest post on Twitter. During an interview, he accused WTA boss Steve Simon of ‘bothering’ Shuai and claimed he gave her contact details to multiple tennis players, as well as media outlets. According to Ding this is ‘a very big factor’ as to why Shuai hasn’t spoken to Simon.
Ding was asked by the BBC if they could speak with Shuai in order to verify his claims but he replied ‘“she only wishes to have a good rest alone in her own home.” Although he says there is “absolutely no supervision nor pressure, and there was definitely no punishment”.
However, when it comes to the allegations of sexual assault Ding says there is no investigation into Gaoli as her alleged emails ‘showed there was no signs of sexual assault.’ Even though it was clearly stated in her Weibo post. China has censored Shuai’s allegations and it has not been reported by any of the country’s newspapers which operate under government rule.
A translation of the purported latest email from Shuai reads as follows: "At the moment I do not want to be disturbed, and especially [can you] not hype up my personal affairs. I hope to live quietly. Thank you again for your concern.”
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
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