ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi has faced
backlash for not suspending tournaments in China in accordance with the
governing body of women’s tennis, WTA, which suspended all the tournaments in
China amid the ongoing Peng Shuai sexual assault controversy.

Also Read: WTA suspends tournaments in China over Peng Shuai concerns

WTA chief Steve Simon had threatened to
pull events from China should they fail to investigate Peng Shuai’s sexual assault allegations made
against former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, also a former member of all power Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) politburo.

Since China did not pay any heed to WTA’s
demand, the world body recently announced that they would be withdrawing all
tour events set to be staged in China, including the prestigious WTA Finals,
giving away business of billions of dollars.

In the wake of the recent development, ATP
Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi also released a statement regarding Peng Shuai’s
situation that read “the situation involving Peng Shuai continues to raise
serious concerns within and beyond our sport.

Also Read: Peng Shuai videos don’t quash safety concerns: WTA

“The response to those concerns has so far
fallen short. We again urge for a line of open direct communication between the
player and the WTA in order to establish a clearer picture of her situation.

“We know that sport can have a positive
influence on society and generally believe that having a global presence gives
us the best chance of creating opportunity and making an impact.

“We will continue to consult with our
members and monitor any developments as this issue evolves.”

However, the ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi’s
statement has widely been criticised by former and present players, for being
too “weak”, particularly regarding the severity of the situation.

US Open champion Andy Roddick said on
Twitter “how to say a lot of words and say nothing (at the same time),” while
18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova was also highly vocal of
Gaudenzi’s statement.

However, world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev took a
more measured approach and praised the WTA’s response but refused to criticise
the ATP for “not doing the same thing.”

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 “I
don’t want to blame anybody for not doing, let’s say, the same thing. Maybe
Andrea [Gaudenzi] has a different opinion on what to do in this situation and
how to react,” said Medvedev.

“I don’t want to say which one is good or
bad. But definitely what (the) WTA did is strong. Yeah, there was a lot of
money involved there. It’s really strong from Simon to make this decision,” he
added.