The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) chairman interviewed an email published by Chinese state media that was linked to tennis player Peng Shuai. The tennis star has not been heard since she accused a senior Chinese government official of sexual harassment two weeks ago.
In the email, Peng said the allegations were “untrue.” WTA president Steve Simon said the announcement “only increased” his concerns about Peng’s safety. Written in his voice and published by television network CGTN, the email claims he has not disappeared or is unsafe. Adding, “I just rested at home, and everything is fine.”
Many responded on social media, questioning its authenticity.
Peng, the former number one doubles tennis player, has not been heard since. He remarks about former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on Chinese social media site Weibo in early November. He claimed he was “forced” to have sex with Zhang – who was the country’s deputy prime minister between 2013 and 2018. And a close ally of Chinese leader Xi Jinping – in a later deleted post.
Since then, the WTA and leading voices from the tennis world have spoken more and more about Ms. Peng. On Thursday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman gave no further details on the situation when asked by reporters. “This is not about foreign affairs,” Zhao Lijiang said. “And I don’t know the relevant situation you mentioned.”
Earlier this week, world number one Novak Djokovic said he hoped Peng would be okay. Adding that he was shocked, while Naomi Osaka also expressed concern about his whereabouts. He also stressed that his allegations of sexual assault should be investigated “with full transparency and without censorship.”
Peng, 35, is an important figure in Chinese tennis. She won two tournaments at the 2013 Wimbledon Grand Slam and the 2014 French Open with Taiwanese Hsieh Su-Wei. His testimony was the worst incident in China’s nascent #MeToo movement. Peng has more than half a million followers on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
Her post containing allegations of sexual assault was removed just minutes. After it was posted on November 2, and another recent post was also removed from her account. Weibo users who are now searching for the name Ms. Peng online will still find his account but will no longer comment under his other posts.