LINZ. The Wels sports manager describes the tennis association’s tough line against China as “no alternative”.
The video meeting of the executive committee of the WTA Women’s Tennis Association lasted three hours on Wednesday evening before the decision was made that all tournaments in China would be suspended with immediate effect. According to Peter Michael Reichel, who has been the highest ranking European functionary on the “Board of Directors” since 2000, there was no second opinion on this matter. “In principle, the situation with the uncertainty about Peng Shuai’s personal situation is unacceptable. There is no alternative to our line.” The WTA describes the 68-year-old as the largest and most influential women’s sports organization in the world. “We see ourselves as a spearhead.” In fact, the association of professional tennis players is committed to a tradition, especially when it comes to women’s rights. When the WTA was founded in 1970 by nine players – including the legendary Billie Jean King – the inequality of prize money between women’s and men’s tennis was the driving force.
It is obvious for Reichel that the WTA is increasing the pressure on the men’s association ATP and other sports organizations with its decision against China. “We are confronted with a no-go situation. I don’t know how it will work out for other associations that continue to have no problems with China,” says the elected Swiss, especially the strange “debate” between the IOC president Thomas Bach and Peng Shuai has bothered. Reichel: “Everyone saw that this conversation was just a production.”
A hard “return” from Chinese politics to the approach of the WTA is expected, but not feared. “The licenses for the tournaments in China belong to companies or private individuals. They can easily be transferred to other countries where there is great demand,” says the man from Wels, who with his daughter Sandra also hosts the WTA tournament in Hamburg organized in Linz. He is also active in the Arab world. In 2019, Reichel organized the first international tennis tournament in Saudi Arabia near the capital Riyadh with the Diriyah Tennis Cup.
The fact that the desert state is not exactly known as a comfort zone for women’s rights activists is not an obstacle for the sports manager. Reichel: “We are only talking about the fact that women are now allowed to drive there. But under the new leadership, Saudi Arabia has now made 32 positive decisions that give women more rights.” Sport could be a lever to set such processes in motion.
Source: Nachrichten
