The tennis player, who has since disappeared, says she was not a victim of sexual abuse. The WTA is concerned about whether the Chinese may express herself freely from censorship or coercion.
Tennis player Peng Shuai, who has since disappeared, has withdrawn claims that she was a victim of sexual abuse. However, the WTA tennis players’ association immediately stressed that Peng’s statement by no means allayed the worries about her. It was also not guaranteed in a statement that she could express herself free of censorship or coercion.
“I want to emphasize one very important thing: I have never said or written anything accusing someone of sexually assaulting me,” Peng told the newspaper Lianhe Zaobao from Singapore in a video. “I would like to underline that very clearly,” she emphasized.
It is the first interview with a medium since her allegations. However, when asked by AFP, the WTA emphasized that it was still “very concerned about the well-being” of the 35-year-olds. “We continue to demand a comprehensive, fair and transparent investigation into your allegations of sexual assault – without censorship,” it said.
Peng reported in early November that he had been sexually abused by former Chinese Vice Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli. Since then there have been several requests to speak from her, accompanied by great doubts. As a consequence, the WTA has suspended all tournaments in China and Hong Kong. In the new video, Peng emphasized that her case was a “private matter” that was “misunderstood” by people.
The conversation seems to have started at a ski event in Shanghai, where Peng was probably speaking to Chinese sports stars like basketball player Yao Ming. When asked whether she could move about freely, she said there that she was “always very free”. She also wrote her most recent email to the WTA “entirely in my own free will”. There she said it was “all good”.