Tennis-China's Peng fined for pulling out of tournament

BEIJING Dec 17 (Reuters) - China's tennis association will fine Olympic hopeful Peng Shuai after she pulled out of a local tournament at the weekend complaining about the umpire and claiming injury, the association and local media said on Monday.

Peng said she was injured and withdrew after falling behind in the deciding set of the final of the China Tennis Grand Prix in the southern city Guangzhou, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The world number 45 then left the court with her coach without attending the awards ceremony.

"We will fine Peng for such behaviour, which is against sporting morality," read a note on the Chinese Tennis Association's (CTA) official Web site.

The association did not specify the amount of the fine but it gave Peng a "public criticism", urged her local Tianjin tennis team to educate her and requested a written apology.

"Whether her action is right or wrong should be judged by the spectators. What we can do is only our job of education," the Beijing Youth Daily quoted CTA deputy director Gao Shenyang as saying. (Reporting by Liu Zhen, editing by Lindsay Beck)