Martina Navratilova criticises ban on 'Where Is Peng Shuai' T-Shirts

Bengaluru, January 24: Women's tennis great Martina Navratilova called a decision by the Australian Open 2022 organisers to prevent fans wearing Where is Peng Shuai? T-shirts as pathetic even as activists pledged to hand them out en masse.

Australian Open 2022 Tournament organisers said Peng's safety was our primary concern after video emerged of security staff appearing to order spectators to remove shirts and a banner in support of the Chinese player.

The former Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles world No.1 is absent from the season's first Grand Slam and there are fears for her wellbeing after she alleged online in November that she had been 'forced' into sex by a Chinese former vice-premier during a years-long on-and-off relationship.

Peng Shuai says her social media post was misunderstood

Her allegation was quickly censored and the 36-year-old was not heard from for nearly three weeks, before reappearing in public in China. But there are still concerns as to whether she is really free.

"That's just pathetic. The @wta stands pretty much alone on this!!!" 18-time Grand Slam winner Navratilova tweeted on the T-shirt ban, using the hashtag #WhereisPengShuai.

The WTA has been widely praised for its stance on Peng, demanding to hear from her directly and suspending tournaments in China.

WTA suspends tournaments in China amid concerns over Peng Shuai

Leading players at the Australian Open 2022 have on several occasions said they still hope to hear directly from Peng so they can be assured of her safety.

French player Nicolas Mahut, who was knocked out of the doubles in the first round at Melbourne, suggested on Twitter that organisers were bowing to corporate sponsorship from China.

"What's going on!? What lack of courage! What if you did not have Chinese sponsors," he wrote.

Chinese distillery Luzhou Laojiao is one of the Australian Open's leading sponsors.

Tennis Australia said that under its ticket conditions 'we don't allow clothing, banners or signs that are commercial or political'.

"Peng Shuai's safety is our primary concern," a spokesperson added.

"We continue to work with the WTA and global tennis community to seek more clarity on her situation and will do everything we can to ensure her wellbeing."

A GoFundMe page set up to raise money to print more T-shirts reached its Aus$10,000 (US$7,100) goal within two days.

"We're printing 1,000 T-shirts and we can see how many match-goers that they can stop," activist Max Mok was quoted as saying by ABC broadcaster.

The Australian Open, the 2022 season's first Grand Slam, which is currently under way at the Melbourne Park, will conclude on January 30.

(With inputs from Agencies)