A large number of spectators are expected to attened the women's singles final at Australian Open 2022 on Saturday with "Where is Peng Shuai?" slogans written on their T-shirts.
Even as he was being ejected from the Australian Open for wearing a white T-shirt with a 바카라Where is Peng Shuai?바카라 slogan in black letters, Max Mok saw an opportunity to amplify the message of concern for the Grand Slam doubles champion and Olympian from China whose well-being has come into question. (More Tennis News)
Mok바카라s plan: He바카라ll help hand out 1,000 of the shirts Saturday to spectators attending the women바카라s final between No. 1-ranked Ash Barty of Australia and Danielle Collins of the U.S.
Yes, this is the biggest tennis match of 2022 so far, yet someone nowhere near Melbourne Park is in the hearts and minds of players, fans and the WTA, the organization that runs the women바카라s professional tour.
바카라We바카라ve seen members of the tennis community being supportive of Peng Shuai 바카라 Naomi Osaka, namely, and lots of others, including Serena Williams,바카라 Mok, an Australian of Chinese heritage, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday as he unpacked boxes of the shirts. 바카라It바카라s a good opportunity to go to the largest tennis event in a while and force (attention).바카라
Peng, the former No. 1-ranked doubles player who won titles at Wimbledon and the French Open, dropped out of public view in November after accusing a former high-ranking Chinese government official, vice premier Zhang Gaoli, of sexual assault.
Concerns about censorship of Peng and her subsequent disappearance from public view led the WTA to suspend all of its tournaments in China, including the season-ending championships. The head of the tour repeatedly has called for China to investigate the 35-year-old Peng바카라s accusations and to allow the WTA to communicate directly with her.
바카라We are all behind her. Everybody wants to have some news and see that she is really fine,바카라 said Tatjana Maria, a 34-year-old from Germany who competed in singles and doubles at Melbourne Park. 바카라That바카라s what바카라s most important 바카라 that she is doing fine and she is well. ... It바카라s the WTA that has to put pressure (on) China to try to get some news.바카라
Naomi Osaka, the former No. 1 singles player who won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, was asked a couple of times about Peng last week.
바카라I haven바카라t heard any news. I바카라m not sure if that바카라s concerning or not,바카라 Osaka said. 바카라But I think the WTA, the whole organization, they handled it really well. I바카라m really proud of them.바카라
Adding to the heightened attention to Peng바카라s case, Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics starting Feb. 4. IOC President Thomas Bach has sought to offer assurances that Peng is fine by saying he has spoken to her via video.
바카라It is a very, very serious issue, obviously. Do I really think that us continuing to speak about it is really going to make a lot of changes in China? I mean, China is going to do what China is going to do,바카라 said Robin Anderson, a 28-year-old American who lost in the first round of the Australian Open last week. 바카라But it is important for us to continue to keep talking about it and to keep at least trying to put pressure on them.바카라
Mok and another human rights activist from Australia, Drew Pavlou, have been hoping to do just that at the season바카라s initial Grand Slam tournament. They raised more than 20,000 Australian dollars (about $15,000) to make the shirts they바카라re distributing.
Mok was one of three people 바카라 the other two are Chinese nationals 바카라 kicked off tournament grounds last weekend for wearing shirts with 바카라Where is Peng Shuai?바카라 printed on them, with the aim of encouraging players to speak out. Citing tournament rules barring 바카라political messaging,바카라 security and police told the the trio they needed to remove their shirts or leave. So they left.
Footage of the episode went viral and sparked widespread condemnation, including from International Tennis Hall of Fame member Martina Navratilova.
바카라It was never planned. It was a coincidence,바카라 Mok said of a small gesture of activism that drew plenty of attention.
A few days later, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley told The Associated Press the rules had been revised, allowing the shirts to worn at Melbourne Park 바카라 as long as people don바카라t congregate in large groups or cause problems for other spectators.
바카라If they want to do that, that바카라s fine,바카라 Tiley said. But 바카라if anyone바카라s coming on site with the express intent of disrupting the comfort and safety of our fans, they바카라re not welcome.바카라
Pavlou called the way the initial confrontation was handled an example of censorship and intimidation, which 바카라made us committed to double down and get these 1,000 T-shirts out there.바카라
바카라They couldn바카라t evict 1,000 from the final,바카라 he said of Tennis Australia.
Pavlou hopes the Australian Open campaign will continue at the Olympics, even though athletes heading to Beijing have been urged by human rights activists to avoid criticizing China because they could be prosecuted.
Either way, Mok and Pavlou figure they managed to make a statement in Australia 바카라 one that could be carried around the world by TV cameras during Saturday바카라s final.
바카라The tennis community has come together. Obviously we바카라re all looking out for her safety. We all hope that she바카라s well. We hope that she바카라s doing OK,바카라 Barty said. 바카라Hopefully it바카라s not too long until we see her back out here.바카라