Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai Retracts Sexual Assault Claim In New Interview

Peng Shuai Retracts Sexual Assault Claim: Chinese Tennis player Peng Shuai retracted the sexual assault allegations that she had made against a former vice-premier of the country on December 19. During the last month, global concern over her safety prompted the Women Tennis Association to withdraw from China after Shuai accused Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault on November 2 in a social media post and then almost disappeared from public space.

Now the Chinese tennis player has denied making any sexual assault allegations in an interview. "I wanted to make this very clear: I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me. With regards to Weibo, it's about my personal privacy...There's been a lot of misunderstanding...There (should be) no distorted interpretation," she said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, a Chinese language publication- a part of Singapore Press Holdings Limited, which is under state control.

The interview dismissed all the allegations made by the tennis star through her social media feed which was taken down within 30 minutes of being uploaded. Peng Shuai had alleged that Gaoli had coerced her into having a sexual relationship with him.

Suggested Reading: Women’s Tennis Association Suspends Tournaments In China Over Peng Shuai Case

As soon as this post was deleted by the Chinese authorities, global organisations like WTA demanded a fair investigation into the case rather than censoring the post. Soon after WTA's statement, many tennis players tweeted their support to Peng Shuai while raising the question of her disappearance.

This video interview of Peng Shuai on Sunday comes with fresh interpretations and suspicion. According to the Guardian, in the video shared by Qingqing Chen, a senior journalist at the state-owned Global Times, Peng Shuai can be seen talking and giggling along with two other people, which includes the Chinese basketball player Yao Ming.

Although this is not the first time a video of her has been posted online by state-owned media. A few days back, the Global Times had posted an email sent from her to the WTA on her safety, then a video of her at a public tennis event was posted where she was shown smiling and posing with officials. Pictures of her at a restaurant etc have also been shared to quash speculations over her safety.

She also spoke with the head of the International Olympic Committee for 30 minutes about the controversy and the safety concerns, ensuring that she was safe and wanted privacy.