The Tennis Association questions the authenticity of the email address of the missing Chinese athlete

The leader of the Women’s Tennis Association questioned the veracity of the email sent on Wednesday Peng Shuai, a Chinese athlete who has not been seen publicly on a post on social media, accused a former senior official of the Chinese Communist Party of sexual assault.

The president of the association, Steve Simon, said in a statement that an email sent to his organization and published a confirmed Twitter feed from a Chinese state-owned English-language satellite news channel only raised his “concerns about his safety and whereabouts.”

“I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is considered of him,” Simon said, adding that the world needs “independent and verifiable proof that he is safe.”

“I have repeatedly tried to reach him through several forms of communication, but to no avail,” he said.

The email, which begins by saying it is from Peng, said he was not lost or in danger and that he was resting at home. NBC News has not independently verified or verified the email.

The email also criticized the Women’s Tennis Association for posting so-called unconfirmed information about Peng without his consent, claiming the sexual violence was true.

The email came up as Naomi Osaka joined a growing group of tennis players and officials demanding answers from the 35-year-old star.

Osaka, Japan’s former number one in the world, sent the message on Tuesday with a hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai, which is widespread on social media.

“Censorship is never okay at any cost. I hope Peng Shuai and his family are safe and fit. Osaka wrote. “I am shocked by the current situation and I am sending him love and light.”

Men’s number one Novak Djokovic said Monday that the situation was “shocking” and that he could not “imagine how his family would feel”.

Peng is one of the biggest tennis stars in China in recent years. He is the former number one in the doubles world, winning the doubles championship at Wimbledon and the French Open in 2013 and 2014.

The allegations were released earlier this month at Peng’s Weibo account, A Chinese social media platform like Twitter, accused Zhang Gaol, a 70-year-old former deputy prime minister, of sexual violence while he was in office.

The message sent to Weibo on November 2 was quickly deleted, and all online chats were deleted revoked by government censorship which blocked a list of related search terms.

Chinese authorities did not respond to the request for comment this month when the allegations were released, and the State Department again did not respond on Wednesday. Zhang, who retired in 2018 and is no longer in public, received no response.

When Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian asked Peng at a daily news conference on Thursday, he replied: “This is not a diplomatic question, and I am not aware of the situation you mentioned.”

The charges against Zhang, who was once one of China’s most influential officials President Xi Jinping, are the most popular in the area the country’s own #MeToo store.

“We have been deeply concerned about the uncertainty surrounding Peng’s immediate safety and whereabouts,” Andrea Gaudenzi, chairman of the men’s ATP Tour, said in a statement on Monday. He called for a “complete, fair and transparent investigation” into his allegation.

Simon told the Women’s Tennis Association New York Times On Sunday, “several sources,” including the Chinese Tennis Association, confirmed that Peng is “safe and not under any physical threat.”

He told the Times that he believed Peng was in Beijing, but he could not confirm it because he or no other official or player he knew had been able to contact him directly.

Tennis is one of many sports struggling with China’s huge commercial potential and Beijing’s widely criticized view of human rights and censorship. Simon told the Times that the WTA would consider boycotting China unless he sees “appropriate results” in this case.

Martina Navratilova, a Czech American tennis legend said in a tweet that this was “the very strong attitude of the WTA – and the right attitude!”

“Let’s not be quiet” wrote The Frenchman Alizé Cornet uses the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai. US player Jamie Hampton retweeted Osaka’s statement, adding: “Thank you for stepping on the plate, you have a backbone and you use your platform to draw attention to real problems.”

The message on Peng’s account did not tell exactly when the alleged assault took place, and he said he was unable to provide evidence.

“I was very scared that afternoon. I didn’t expect it to be like this,” his Weibo account said. “I didn’t agree to have sex with you and I cried that afternoon.”

He is not the first Chinese celebrity to suddenly disappear from public view.

The movie is a megastar Fan Bingbing disappeared nearly 2018 and 2019 after authorities ordered him to pay $ 129 million in unpaid taxes and fines. He appeared after he apologized and said he was “ashamed” and acknowledged the “great policy” of the Communist Party, which without “Fan Bingbing” would not exist.

Last year, a Chinese technology billionaire Jack Ma disappeared for three months after making comments that some interpreted as critical by China’s financial regulators.

This story first appeared NBCNews.com.