Peng Shuai is a Chinese professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 doubles by the WTA, the first Chinese tennis player to do so (male or female, and in singles or doubles) in February 2014. As of August 2011, she peaked at No. 14 of the singles rankings. In addition, she has won two singles and 22 doubles titles. Moreover, she won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final. She won her first ladies’ doubles championship with Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and again won at the 2014 French Open with Hsieh. During her career timeline, she has defeated many top-10 and top-5 players, including Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, Kim Clijsters, Amélie Mauresmo, Francesca Schiavone, Jelena Janković, Agnieszka Radwańska, Marion Bartoli, and Vera Zvonareva. In the year 2001, she made her professional tennis debut. From 1994 to now, she is active in the tennis field. Her present coach is Carlos Rodríguez. Recently, she came to headline after she accused former senior Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her, followed by her abrupt disappearance and Chinese censorship, which in turn sparked growing worldwide concerns over her safety.
WTA questions email allegedly from Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai
WTA chief says hard to believe email published by state media came from Peng, who disappeared after she accused the top official of sexual assault. WTA has cast doubt on an email released by Chinese state media attributed to tennis player Peng Shuai. She has not been heard from since she made sexual assault allegations against a top Chinese government official two weeks ago. In the email, Ms. Peng purportedly says the allegations are “not true”. She alleged she was “forced” into sexual relations with Mr. Zhang – who served as the country’s Vice Premier between 2013 and 2018 and was a close ally of China’s leader Xi Jinping – in a post that was later taken down. She has not been seen or heard from publicly since. In a Twitter post – under the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai – Osaka wrote: “Not sure if you’ve been following the news but I was recently informed of a fellow tennis player that has gone missing shortly after revealing that she has been sexually abused. Censorship is never ok at any cost.” Statement from Steve Simon, WTA Chairman & CEO: “The statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts. I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her. Peng Shuai displayed incredible courage in describing an allegation of sexual assault against a former top official in the Chinese government. The WTA and the rest of the world need independent and verifiable proof that she is safe. I have repeatedly tried to reach her via numerous forms of communication, to no avail. Peng Shuai must be allowed to speak freely, without coercion or intimidation from any source. Her allegation of sexual assault must be respected, investigated with full transparency and without censorship. The voices of women need to be heard and respected, not censored nor dictated to”.
What is Peng Shuai Famous For?
- Being a Chinese professional tennis player.
- For utilizing her double-handed play style to create flat groundstrokes with which she can catch her opponents off-guard.
- For playing with two hands on both sides and hits very flat.
Source: @japantimes
What Nationality is Peng Shuai? Know About Her Family, Age, and Ethnicity
Peng Shuai was born on 8th January 1986. She is from Xiangtan, Hunan, China. By nationality, she is Chinese and she came from Chinese-Asian ethnicity. Her present age is 35 celebrating her birthday on 8th January 2021. Capricorn is her Zodiac sign and her religion is Christianity. About her parents, she was born to her father, Peng Jijun, and her mother, Zhang Bing. Her uncle, who was a famous tennis coach in China, and her family members, introduced her to the tennis game. She started playing at the young age of eight years. Her father is a police officer by profession. There are no details about her siblings.
About her education, she attended and graduated from the Renmin University of China.
Peng Shuai Tennis Career Timeline (2001-2021)
- Peng Shuai started her tennis career in 2001 at the beginning of June at the age of 15 years and four months.
- She grabbed her first singles title at Baotou, a $10k tournament, after entering as a wildcard, and crushing highly capable countrywoman Sun Tiantian 6–1, 6–4 in the semifinal.
- She won her second ITF tournament of the year of July.
- She debuted on the WTA Tour at Shanghai as a wildcard, losing in the first round to Tamarine Tanasugarn in October.
- She won her third $10k singles title in the space of nine months at Mumbai where she defeated American Sunitha Rao in the final in February 2002.
- She won her career-best performance, coming through qualifying to win her first $25k title at Jackson, with match wins against Rika Fujiwara, Tatiana Golovin, and Christina Wheeler among others.
- Next in December, she won her first $50k event, and the fifth ITF title of her young career, at Changsha, with victories over Yuka Yoshida, Yan Zi, and Zheng Jie.
- She reached her third $25k singles event final at Columbus, Ohio in February 2004 where she was defeated by Czech Nicole Vaidisova.
- She qualified for another $50k event, at Orange, California but lost in three sets to Ukrainian Yuliya Beygelzimer.
- She reaches her first WTA Tour quarterfinal, before losing to top-20 player Vera Zvonareva.
- Her year ended winning her second $50k title and eighth overall career ITF singles title in November (Shenzhen 2), with impressive victories over her countrywomen Sun Tiantian and Zheng Jie.
- She ended the year world-ranked 73.
- In January 2005, she went on to reach her first WTA Tour semifinal in Sydney. In the quarterfinal, she was up 6–3, 4–2 against Russian star Nadia Petrova, and well on target for another shock straight-sets victory, when Petrova retired.
- She won her first Grand Slam singles match, defeating Maria Elena Camerin 6–1, 6–2 at the Australian Open.
- At Strasbourg in May, she reached another WTA quarterfinal but lost in three sets to Marta Domachowska.
- She reached her first Tier-I semifinal at San Diego, posting upsets over then-world No. 6, Elena Dementieva, world No. 26, Dinara Safina, and world No. 7, Kim Clijsters, all in straight sets in August.
- She reached two further WTA quarterfinals, at Beijing and (for the second year running) Guangzhou, where she retired in her quarterfinal match against teenage emerging star Victoria Azarenka in September.
- In 2006, she lost her first-round ties at Sydney (a tough draw against Ana Ivanovic) and the Australian Open, then withdrew from subsequent tournaments with sickness.
- She reached the semifinals of the Tier-III Pattaya Open, losing to Sybille Bammer in February 2006. Also, she reached the third round of Tier-I events in Toronto, Berlin, Indian Wells, and Charleston recording a win over Patty Schnyder.
- She finished the year with a 26–21 record in singles, a doubles title in Guangzhou with Yan Zi, and one top-ten win (against Mauresmo).
- She beat top-seed Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals of the silver group on 4th January 2008.
- Starting the season 2008, she recorded her first win of the year at the Tier-II Bangalore Open against Anne Kremer prior to losing to Venus Williams. However, she won the doubles title with Sun Tiantian.
- In the Fed Cup semifinals, she lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives and to Carla Suárez Navarro.
- She lost the third round to Alla Kudryavtseva at the Grand slam tournament level.
- She reached the second round of the US Open for the first time in her career by defeating Eleni Daniilidou but lost to Flavia Pennetta.
- At the Summer Olympics, she lost to Alizé Cornet in the second round of the singles.
- At the Beijing Olympics, she won against Suárez Navarro in round one before losing to Alizé Cornet of France.
- She announced in early 2009 stating that she will be coached full-time for the 2009 season by Tarik Benhabiles.
- She won the Sydney doubles title with Hsieh Su-wei, defeating Nathalie Dechy and Casey Dellacqua in the final.
- Partnering with Hsieh at the Italian Open, she won the doubles title defeating fifth-seeded Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama, in two close sets.
Source: @sportskeeda
- She defeated Jarmila Groth in straight sets at the US Open but lost to Yanina Wickmayer in the next round.
- She went on to beat the 2008 China Open champion and former world No. 1, Jelena Janković during the China Open but lost to Nadia Petrova.
- She began her 2010 world tour losing at Brisbane to Hungarian Ágnes Szávay.
- She then traveled to the US to compete at the Indian Wells Open where she lost to Nadia Petrova in the third.
- At the Ponte Vedra Beach Championships, she was defeated by eighth-seeded American Melanie Oudin.
- Next, she competed at the Charleston Cup where she defeated Shenay Perry in the opening round.
- At the Estoril Open, she was defeated by Anastasija Sevastova in the semifinals, in three sets.
- Due to her illness, she could not play French Open and she missed the whole season.
- After that, she lost to Christina McHale in the first round of qualifying in Tokyo.
- She continued on the ITF Circuit with a trophy at the $100k event in Taipei, played on the carpet.
- She ended the season representing China in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and won a gold medal in the team event alongside teammates Li Na, Yan Zi, and Zhang Shuai. Moreover, she gained a bronze medal with her partner Yan Zi in the double event, and in the singles event, she won another gold medal, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan in two sets.
- She started her 2011 season at the Auckland Open. Defeating Johanna Larsson in the first round 6–1, 6–3, she caused a big upset by defeating No. 3 seed Kuznetsova, after being a double break down 0–3 in the final set. Moreover, she defeated British qualifier Heather Watson in the quarterfinals but lost to No. 2 seed, Yanina Wickmayer in 2 hours and 53 minutes.
- Playing at the Hobart International, she lost to Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
- Her next tournament was the Pattaya Open where defeated Chan Yung-jan, and Elena Baltacha. But, she was defeated by top seed Vera Zvonareva in the quarterfinal.
- In the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open, she faced Marion Bartoli, losing in straight sets, for the first time in the season.
- Later, she entered the Indian Wells Open where she defeated Renata Voráčová in the first round, defeated No. 7 seed Li Na for the first time in her career, defeated Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecká in the third round, defeated Nadia Petrova in the fourth round, and also defeated Maria Sharapova in a quarterfinal match.
- Her next tournament was the Miami Open where she defeated Greta Arn, Aravane Rezaï, Svetlana Kuznetsova losing to Alexandra Dulgheru.
- Shuai rose to a new career-high ranking of No. 30 and was seeded 11th at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.
- She then played at the Brussels Open losing to world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, in three sets in the final.
- Also, she played at the French Open where she defeated Tamira Paszek of Austria in the first round, and in the second Polona Hercog but she retired in the third round playing against Francesca Schiavone.
- Further, she played the Birmingham Classic losing to champion Sabine Lisicki in straight sets; she played at the Eastbourne International losing to Victoria Azarenka; she played at Wimbledon losing to Maria Sharapova.
- She then reached another career-high ranking of world No. 14, before the US Open, where she was seeded 13th.
- After that, she began the 2012 season at Auckland as the No. 2 seed losing in the second round to Lucie Hradecká.
- At the Qatar Open, she lost in the second round to Daniela Hantuchová. Next, she competed in the Malaysian Open where she lost in the quarterfinals in a tight three-setter against Petra Martić.
- She lost to Ksenia Pervak in the second at Indian Wells.
- Then, she played the Wimbledon Championships where she lost to Maria Kirilenko in three sets.
- She competed in the women’s singles and the women’s doubles with Zheng Jie at the 2012 Summer Olympics where she reached the second round, losing to Petra Kvitová, and her doubles pairing reached the quarterfinals.
- Peng began her 2013 season in the new Shenzhen Open. There, she reached the semifinals but lost to Li Na.
- She next played the Hobart International losing to Monica Niculescu in the second round.
- She then competed in the Australian Open where she lost to Maria Kirilenko in the second round in two sets.
- At Indian Wells, she lost to Sam Stour and then played at Miami Open losing to Petra Kvitová in the second.
- She played the event for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix where she lost in the second round.
- She lost in the first round against qualifier Christina McHale in the Madrid Open.
- She later traveled to Rome for the Italian Open where she was defeated by Sam Stour.
- Next, she competed in the Brussels Open reaching the final by defeating Sofia Arvidsson, Olga Govortsova, Sloane Stephens, and Romina Oprandi. Sadly, she lost to Kaia Kanepi.
- She lost to Marina Erakovic in the second round in Wimbledon.
- She lost back-to-back against Caroline Wozniacki in the first rounds of the Western & Southern Open and New Haven Open in the US Open Series.
- She lost in the second round against Kuznetsova at the US Open.
- She lost to qualifier Johanna Konta in the Asian swing.
- Her last event of the year was Luxembourg Open losing to the fifth seed Lucie Šafářová.
- She then began her huge success as a doubles player from 2013 pairing with her childhood Hsieh Su-wei with whom she clinched five double’s titles in 2013, including two Premier-5 events (Rome and Cincinnati), Wimbledon and WTA Championships.
- Additionally, she became the first Chinese player to win the WTA Tour Championships, and the fifth to win a Grand Slam title, after Zheng Jie, Yan Zi, Sun Tiantian, and Li Na.
- She reached the final in the Shenzhen Open but lost to Li Na. Next, she lost in the opening round to Kurumi Nara at the Australian Open. Further, she lost in the second round in the doubles event against Shahar Pe’er and Sílvia Soler Espinosa in three sets with Hsieh.
- She won two consecutive doubles titles, winning the Pattaya Open with Zhang Shuai defeating Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova in the final.
- Moreover, she also won Qatar Open with Hsieh Su-wei defeating Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in the final.
- She became the world No. 1 in doubles, making her the first Chinese tennis player (man or woman, in singles or doubles) to reach world No. 1 on 17th February.
- Peng and Hsieh also won another three titles during the season including two Premiere Mandatory events (Indian Wells and Beijing) and the French Open.
- Later, they failed in defending their title and also lost their No. 1 ranking in the Wimbledon Championships.
- Next, she clinched the title in the 125K event in Nanchang.
- She made her first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal and semifinal appearances, defeating compatriot Zheng Jie, fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwańska, 28th-seeded Roberta Vinci, 14th-seeded Lucie Šafářová, and rising star Belinda Bencic en route at the US Open in all straight sets.
- She retired against 10th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinal at 6–7, 3–4 down, when she suffered severe cramps due to heat illness and had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair.
- She came back in the Wuhan Open and lost to Mona Barthel in the first round and also, she lost to third seed Petra Kvitová in straight sets in the China Open.
- She reached the semifinal and retired against Belinda Bencic in the Tianjin Open.
- Peng and Hsieh entered the WTA Finals as the second seed as they beat Garbiñe Muguruza/Carla Suárez Navarro and Alla Kudryavtseva/Anastasia Rodionova in straight sets to reach the final. Sadly, they lost to Cara Black/Sania Mirza.
- She faced several injuries in his 2015 season.
- She beat German qualifier Tatjana Maria in the opening round, Magdaléna Rybáriková in the second rond and Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova, all in straight sets at the 21st seed of Australian Open.
- She then lost to second seed and the eventual runner-up Maria Sharapova by 3–6, 0–6 in the fourth round of the match.
- Alongside Xu Yifan, she lost in the first round matches in the Shenzhen Open and Australian Open against the 15th seed, Kimiko Date-Krumm and Casey Dellacqua where they wasted a 6–4, 5–0 lead, two match points in the second set, and three more in the twelfth game of the final set and eventually lost to their opponents.
- Next, Shuai played two more tournaments, with Kveta Peschke in Dubai and Zarina Diyas in Madrid, but was not able to win a set.
- Then, she announced the end of her 2015 season due to injuries in her back and waist.
- She returned to the tour in Indian Wells in 2016 where she faced a number of early exits.
- She defeated sixth seed, Venus Williams, in the China Open in the first round.
- In the Tianjin Open, she clinched her first-ever WTA singles title with a wildcard.
- She had to play the final several hours after the semifinal against the 2014 champion Alison Riske, in which she won in two sets.
- In addition, she won the doubles-final match with Christina McHale.
- Peng Shuai began his 2017 season in the Shenzhen Open losing to Katerina Siniakova. After that, she competed in the Australian Open where she lost to Eugenie Bouchard.
- Next, she competed in the Taiwan Open losing to world No. 13 Elina Svitolina
- In the Dubai Championships, she defeated Lesia Tsurenko but lost to Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in the third round.
- At Indian Wells, she lost to 12th seed Venus Williams.
- She was banned on 8th August 2018 for
- “coercing her partner” receiving a six-month suspension with three months of the ban suspended, and fined $10,000 with $5,000 suspended following an investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit, for attempting to change her doubles partner by offering the possibility of a financial reward in return for her partner agreeing to withdraw, after the deadline had passed, at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships.
- Then, she began her 2020 season at the Shenzhen Open where she lost in the second round to fifth seed and eventual champion, Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Source: @cnn.com
Accusation of being sexually assaulted
- Pen Shuai posted a lengthy message on her verified Weibo microblog account on 2nd November 2021 accusing Zhang Gaoli, a former senior Chinese vice premier and high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), of sexual assault, three years earlier.
- She also said that Zhang had an on-off extramarital affair with her.
- Thus, the accusation drew attention to the #MeToo movement in China.
- Her post was removed from Weibo within 20 minutes of being uploaded, although screenshots of the posting were saved.
- Since her accusation, and as of 17 November 2021, she has not communicated on social media.
- On 14th November, the chief executive of WTA Steve Simon called on Chinese authorities to investigate Peng’s allegations and also called for an end to official Chinese censorship on the subject.
- The Chinese Tennis Association also sent a confirmation to WTA to inform that Peng is safe and not under any physical threat. However, Simon stated that no one associated with the WTA, including officials and active players, had been able to reach her directly to confirm her status.
- ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi issued a statement where he expressed deep concern about the uncertainty surrounding the immediate safety and whereabouts of Peng.
- In addition, he also expressed his full support to WTA’s investigation into Peng’s allegations while stating that they will continue to monitor the situation closely.
- On 16th November, tennis player Naomi Osaka posted a message on Twitter where she demanded answers about the whereabouts of Peng and her allegation of sexual assault.
Everything That You Need To Know About Naomi Osaka
Source: @instagram.com/explore/tags/pengshuai
- After a day, Chinese state-affiliated media CGTN released an email allegedly written by Peng to the chief executive of WTA Steve Simon, where she stated that she is resting at home and that her allegation of sexual assault is not true, and that she was not missing.
- The authenticity of the email was cast doubt with many pointing out that a typing cursor appears to be visible on the screenshot of the email.
- Responding in regard to the email, Simon stated that it only raises his concerns as to her safety and whereabouts. He reiterated that Peng’s sexual-assault allegation must be investigated “with full transparency and without censorship”.
Peng Shuai Personal Life: Who is Peng Shuai Boyfriend?
Peng Shuai is still to get married. Thus, she has no husband right now. She is assumed to be single at present as she has been very confidential regarding her personal life. Not much news and rumors regarding her relationships and affairs have been published or revealed in the media. It seems she is currently focusing on her career and has no plan to get into any kind of committed relationship or marriage. She seems private in her personal relationship matter. She is enjoying her present life happily being single. Her sexual orientation is straight. She is currently residing in Tianjin, China.
Peng Shuai Net Worth and Salary: How much has she earn through prize money?
Peng Shuai is considered one of the most successful athletes of all time. She has made the prize money of US$ 9,617,653 till now. The net worth of Peng Shuai is estimated to have $5 million USD as of 2021. Her main source of wealth comes from her Tennis career and she is living a standard lifestyle at present. Details regarding her exact annual salary, income, and career earnings are still to get unfold yet but there is no doubt in the mind of her followers that she is making a considerable amount of money from her present work.
Peng Shuai Height and Weight: How tall is she?
Peng Shuai is a very charming and beautiful lady. She has a tall height of 1.77 m or 5 ft 10 in and her balanced bodyweight consist of 67 Kg or 121 lbs. Her eye color is black and her hair color is also black. Her other body measurement has not been disclosed yet. Her body type is athletic and she maintains her body a lot. At a small age of 13 years, she was diagnosed with a disease and was advised for heart surgery to repair a defect in her heart, a situation she explained in Adidas’s Impossible is Nothing campaign.
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