BBC Sport
The first words of the brief profile page about Steve Simon in his organisation’s media handbook are quite telling: “From day one … an instigator of change.” The chief executive of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has been widely praised for putting principles above pockets in suspending all of its tournaments in China amid concern for Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, who disappeared from public view for three weeks after accusing a top Chinese official of sexual assault.
Born in California, Simon took up tennis at the age of 10 and played college tennis at Long Beach State. He qualified for the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1981 before moving into coaching and then sports sponsorship and sales, joining the Indian Wells event in 1989 and eventually becoming its tournament director in 2004. He held that role for 12 years, overseeing innovations such as becoming the first tournament to introduce Hawk-Eye video replay technology on all of its courts in 2011, helping turn the joint men’s and women’s event into ‘the fifth major.’
When he left Indian Wells to take up the top job at the WTA, his appointment was backed by WTA founder Billie Jean King, who described him as “thoughtful, respectful,” and was supported by top players Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki. Williams said at the time: “When I returned to Indian Wells this year Steve could not have been more helpful, professional and supportive. I know how much he cares about the opinions of the players. He’s a good listener and he has our best interests in mind.”
Simon negotiated a huge expansion of the tour into Asia that included a 10-year deal for Shenzhen to host the season-ending WTA Finals. When Ashleigh Barty received a record $4.42m for winning the 2019 WTA Finals in Shenzhen, it was the largest prize ever awarded in men’s and women’s tennis. He has admitted he is worried about the cost implications of leaving China permanently but that “this is something that we simply cannot walk away from. If we walk away from what we have requested, what we are telling the world is that not addressing sexual assault with the respect and seriousness that it requires is OK, and it is just not.”