Steve Simon (far left) has appeared at many trophy ceremonies but his stance on China has earned him plaudits of his own

 Steve Simon at the 2019 WTA Finals

Steve Simon (far left) has appeared at many trophy ceremonies but his stance on China has earned him plaudits of his own

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.

And maybe no-one should be surprised - the 66-year-old American's ethos has long been about 'the right thing to do', even if it has previously been in a much quieter way.

So,

Steve Simon at the 2019 WTA Finals just who is the man taking on China because the case of Peng - who disappeared from public view for three weeks after accusing a top Chinese official of sexual assault - is "bigger than business"?

Peng holds second video call with IOC

Tennis player and innovator

Born in California, Simon took up tennis at the age of 10 and went on to play college tennis at Long Beach State.

He qualified for the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1981 where he lost in the first round alongside compatriot Lea Antonoplis.

After graduating he moved 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 the becoming the first tournament to introduce Hawk-Eye video replay technology on all of its courts in 2011.

And he helped turn the joint men's and women's event into 'the fifth major' - behind only the four Grand Slams in terms of prestige, and one of the most popular with players.

Listener and supporter

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 in particular had at that point experienced Simon's reputation of helping players.

The American 23-time Grand Slam champion had boycotted Indian Wells for 14 years after suffering racist abuse before eventually returning to the event in 2015, with Simon heavily involved in persuading her back.

"When I returned to Indian Wells this year Steve could not have been more helpful, professional and supportive," Williams said at the time. "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 also backed up Williams' claim of sexism in the way she was treated by umpire Carlos Ramos during the 2018 US Open final, saying the matter had brought up the question of "whether different standards are applied to men and women" in officiating.

And at the 2019 French Open he spoke out about what he called the "unfair and inappropriate" decision to bump the women's semi-final matches off the main court after weather disruption to the schedule.