Australian Open reverses 'Where is Peng Shuai?' T-shirt ban
Spectators at the Australian Open are welcome to wear T-shirts supporting Peng Shuai, tournament director Craig Tiley has said.
Previously, organisers were criticised after a woman wearing a “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-shirt was ejected from the event last week, with Martina Navratilova branding the move “cowardly” and accusing Tennis Australia of “capitulating” to China.
There has been major concern inside and outside tennis for the well-being of the former world doubles number one, since she disappeared from view in November after making allegations on social media about a senior Chinese official, which she has since recanted.
Peng has gone on to make several public appearances but there remain serious questions about her freedom and the WTA has suspended all tournaments in China.
Craig Tiley, the chief executive of Tennis Australia and Australian Open tournament director, told the PA news agency the issue was not with the T-shirt but intent to disrupt the tournament.
He said: "Coming onto the site we have some terms and conditions that are pretty clear and that is, if you are coming on site with the purpose of disrupting the safety and comfort of fans, you’re not welcome.
"But if you want to wear a T-shirt that says ‘Where’s Peng Shuai?’, you can come on site, that’s fine.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with a political or commercial statement. Our security people are trained to take a common sense approach, and I think that’s in the interest of everyone."
Fans wearing Peng Shuai T-shirts were filmed entering Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Having kept a very low profile in the aftermath of Novak Djokovic’s deportation, Tiley has been more visible in recent days.
Tennis Australia came under fire for its role in pushing for exemptions for unvaccinated players to enter the country, but Tiley dismissed suggestions the fiasco had damaged the tournament’s reputation.
“No I absolutely don’t (think so),” he said. “I think the reputation of the tournament’s been defined by what you see today.
"We’ve had more people from around the world watch the Australian Open than ever before.
“No one person is bigger than the event. I think we’re going to end up over the next five days firstly with a great event and potentially with a couple of new champions.”