International Tennis Federation Chief Doesn't Want "To Punish Billion" Chinese People Over Peng Shaui

International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty said Sunday that his organisation will not boycott China over the Peng Shuai affair as "we don't want to punish a billion people".

International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty said Sunday that his organisation will not boycott China over the Peng Shuai affair as "we don't want to punish a billion people". The WTA, which controls the women's game, last week suspended all tournaments in China amid what its chairman called "serious doubts" about the safety of Chinese player Peng, who accused a top Communist Party leader of sexual assault. WTA chair and CEO Steve Simon said the move -- which could cost the WTA hundreds of millions of dollars -- had the "full support" of the tour's board of directors.

However, the ATP, which governs men's tennis, has refused to follow the WTA's example.

Now the ITF, the overall ruling body of tennis, has also rejected such a move.

"As the governing body of tennis, we stand in support of all women's rights," Haggerty told the BBC.

"The allegations (of Peng) need to be looked into, and we will continue to work behind the scenes and directly to bring this to resolution.