‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ T-shirts return as Wimbledon searches 4 fans

British spectators allowed to keep wearing shirts referencing Peng’s low profile after she accused a former high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault

After similar incidents at Australian Open in January, the Wimbledon CEO says it’s ‘not about what people are wearing; it’s about the way people behave’

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The spectators wearing their T-shirts at Wimbledon in London on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 4:58pm, 5 Jul 2022Updated: 5:07pm, 5 Jul 2022

Four activists wearing “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-shirts were stopped by security at Wimbledon on Monday and had their bags searched.

Peng, the retired tennis player from China, last year accused a former high-ranking member of the country’s ruling Communist Party of sexual assault. She has made very few public appearances since then.

A similar episode occurred with fans wearing T-shirts supporting Peng at this year’s Australian Open. A spectator in Melbourne was removed from the grounds and others were asked to remove their Peng T-shirts, but the tournament later reversed its decision and allowed people to wear the clothing as long as they didn’t congregate in large groups or cause problems for other spectators.

Jason Leith of the Free Tibet organisation said he and his three colleagues put on the white T-shirts after entering the grounds of the All England Club on Monday.

Peng Shuai attracted international attention for her allegation last year before vanishing from public view then retracting the claim. Photo: AP

“We didn’t have these on when we came in because we worried about not being let in. So we put them on and we were just walking around and a few people wanted selfies with us, so we were taking pictures with people,” said Leith, who is British.