Wimbledon security challenge activists in ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ t-shirts

Concerns remain for the Chinese tennis player

Nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova was amongst those to criticise security personnel at the All England Club after footage emerged of them questioning activists seen wearing ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ t-shirts.

Chinese tennis star Peng disappeared from public view late last year after appearing to allege a former senior Communist Party official in her homeland had pressured her into sex.

She has since retracted her comments and appeared at the Winter Olympics in Beijing earlier this year, but concerns that she is unable to act and speak freely remain, prompting the WTA to suspend staging any of its events in China.

A group of four men representing the Free Tibet human rights organisation were seen at Wimbledon on Monday, all wearing the t-shirts.

Footage of them being challenged by security later appeared online. The men are said to have been told that the championships want to remain ‘politically neutral’.

“We were peacefully walking around the grounds, occasionally talking to people about Peng Shuai,” Free Tibet representative Will Hoyles told The Telegraph.

“We were getting huge support from people around the grounds. At one point security staff started questioning us and when we said we were just talking to people she told us not to approach people and that Wimbledon wants to remain politically neutral.