ITF takes a U-turn, follows the WTA, and suspends all World Tour Tennis events in China 

In a sudden turn of events, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has decided to suspend all World Tour Tennis events in China. This comes as a surprise after ITF chairman Ben Haggerty's recent comments, where he made it explicitly clear that ITF tournaments in China will continue citing reasons such as "grassroots development" and not wanting to "punish a billion people".

The WTA, amidst concerns about Peng Shuai's safety, decided to suspend all scheduled events in China, and it was expected that the ATP and ITF would follow suit.

However, during an interview with BBC Sport on December 5, Haggerty stated, "You have to remember that the ITF is the governing body of the sport worldwide, and one of the things that we are responsible for is grassroots development," justifying why it would not be in the ITF's best interests to suspend tournaments around concerns regarding Peng Shuai.

He added, "We don't want to punish a billion people, so we will continue to run our junior events in the country and our senior events that are there for the time being."

Within days, however, the ITF changed its stance, offering no reason behind the sudden decision to suspend all World Tour Tennis events in China.

“No men’s or women’s ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments are scheduled to be played in China in 2022,” an ITF source told Reuters.

World Tennis Tour events are professional tournaments below the elite level. In its last full pre-pandemic season, China hosted about 25 ITF women's and 15 men's events focused mainly around grassroots development and helping professionals transition into the ATP and WTA circuits.

What led to ITF's decision to suspend tournaments in China?

Steve Simon (L) in Shanghai during the 2019 WTA Finals - Day Seven

Despite no official confirmation that the ITF's decision to suspend tournaments in China was linked to Peng Shuai, it is an easy guess considering that pressure was mounting on the ATP and ITF to follow suit after the WTA's actions.

WTA Chief Steve Simon laid down a strong statement addressing the risks associated with continuing to allow China to host WTA events on December 2, highlighting the Chinese government's mishandling of the sexual assault allegations put out by Peng Shuai.

"If powerful people can suppress the voices of women and sweep allegations of sexual assault under the rug, then the basis on which the WTA was founded - equality for women - would suffer an immense setback," Simon said to BBC Sport in reference to Chinese authorities.

"I will not and cannot let that happen to the WTA and its players," Steve Simon added, citing the safety of players who will travel to China.

With this statement, the WTA set a strong precedent and with the ITF now taking a call to halt tournaments in China immediately, the ATP will also be expected to reverse its stance on the issue.