The Women's Tennis Association volition resume tournaments successful China this twelvemonth having accepted an probe into the intersexual battle allegations made by erstwhile subordinate Peng Shuai volition not beryllium carried retired by the Chinese government.
Former doubles satellite fig 1 Peng said successful November 2021 she was "forced" into a intersexual narration with erstwhile China vice-premier Zhang Gaoli.
The WTA suspended its end-of-year events successful China and said it would not instrumentality until determination was an probe and it had impervious of Peng's safety.
"We've been successful this for 16 months and we are convinced that astatine this constituent our requests volition not beryllium met," WTA main enforcement Steve Simon told BBC Sport.
"To proceed with the aforesaid strategy doesn't marque consciousness and a antithetic attack is needed. Hopefully, by returning much advancement tin beryllium made."
The determination means the last 2 months of the WTA play volition erstwhile again beryllium dominated by China. Simon said the docket volition beryllium "very similar" to the pre-pandemic twelvemonth of 2019 erstwhile 8 Chinese tournaments were staged successful 8 weeks from aboriginal September.
And crucially, the season-ending WTA Finals volition resume its 10-year woody with the metropolis of Shenzhen. Prize wealth this year, arsenic it was successful the archetypal twelvemonth of the declaration successful 2019, volition beryllium £11.2m.
Simon says the "great majority" of players are successful enactment of a instrumentality to China.
And contempt promising a hard-line stance with the Chinese government, successful which determination would beryllium nary country for compromise, helium says helium has not considered resigning.
"No, I would ne'er bash that to an organisation. It's astir starring an organisation and listening to its members," helium said.
"We person athletes that travel from implicit 80 nations, truthful there's plentifulness of antithetic opinions, but the bulk of athletes were precise supportive of a instrumentality backmost to the region. We surely person immoderate that were not, but the bulk - the large bulk - were successful enactment and are successful enactment of going back. There was beardown enactment crossed the members, the [player] assembly and the board."
Simon says this alteration of bosom was not forced upon them by commercialized realities, but accepts members would person "sacrificed a large deal" had the WTA Tour withdrawn from China for good.
The WTA's boycott lasted conscionable implicit 16 months, though nary tournaments could person taken spot successful the state during that play anyhow due to the fact that of the Covid pandemic.
The WTA had antecedently called for the Chinese authorities to clasp a "full, just and transparent" probe earlier immoderate tournaments could spell ahead.
"We've achieved immoderate assurances from radical that are adjacent to Peng that she's harmless and surviving with her household successful Beijing," Simon said erstwhile asked whether the WTA had achieved anything. He says helium has not yet been capable to talk personally with Peng.
"We bash besides person immoderate assurances that determination won't beryllium immoderate issues with our players and unit portion they are competing successful China. And hopefully we person received immoderate respect for the stance we took," helium continued.
"We haven't seen anyone other instrumentality a stance specified arsenic we did. There hasn't been immoderate different sporting leagues oregon immoderate concern that person - we took that beardown stance, we basal down it."
The men's Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour committed itself to 2023 events successful Chengdu, Zhuhai, Shanghai and Beijing erstwhile China's Covid regulations eased, and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said this period it is looking guardant to bringing the World Tennis Tour backmost to China.
"We didn't spell into this with expectations that anybody would [follow suit]," Simon added.
"I would person liked to person seen that, for sure, but we didn't expect it and we're not pointing fingers astatine anyone else."
Simon denies that by returning to China, the WTA has removed a important pillar of enactment for Peng.
"We are hoping by the instrumentality much advancement volition beryllium made," helium said. "We are precise arrogant of the presumption we took.
"We're not going to fto Peng beryllium forgotten astatine this constituent successful time."