Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai denies allegations of sexual violence

“There have been a lot of misunderstandings,” Peng said in an interview, describing the situation as affecting “my personal privacy.”

“There should be no distorted interpretations,” he said.

His words follow a message written on November 2, which appeared on Ms. Peng’s confirmed social media account, describing an ongoing relationship with former Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaol, who lasted for several years and was sometimes consensual and sometimes coerced. . The message claimed that in one case, Zhang forced Ms. Peng to have sex with her, but it did not use Chinese sexual violence to describe the encounter.

On November 2, the message disappeared after about 20 minutes. While Ms. Peng’s social media account remains online, her commenting feature has been disabled and her name has been blocked from searches.

Ms. Peng’s interview has not alleviated her concerns, the women’s tennis association told Agence-France Press in a statement.

– We stand firmly in our call for a full, fair and open investigation without censorship of his allegations of sexual violence, AFP quoted the organization as saying.

The Weibo message originally put Ms. Peng at the center of the media storm. The attention expanded nearly two weeks later on November 14, when Steve Simon, president of the WTA, said the organization had failed to reach Ms. Peng after repeated attempts, and she called for an investigation into the allegation.

In an interview released on Sunday, Peng said he had personally written an email to Mr. Simon in Chinese. He added that the English version, published on November 17 by the Chinese state-run broadcaster CGTN, that the allegation of a sexual crime was untrue and that “everything is fine” was a translation.

“There’s no difference in meaning and the information in it,” he said of the two versions.

Simon said at the time of the broadcast that the email raised more concern about his safety and whereabouts. Other tennis stars, including Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, sent alarming messages to her with the Twitter hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai.

The incident also triggered a global storm of suspicion over Ms. Peng’s health and safety. Simon said international pressure could help clarify the situation and protect Ms. Peng. As a result, the WTA announced earlier this month that it will suspend future tournaments in China. Human rights organizations are calling for a boycott of the Winter Olympics starting in Beijing in February, referring to China’s human rights record and demanding that Miss Peng is not genuinely free.

Representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry have said they are not aware of Ms. Peng’s accusations. Questions and answers about Pengi have been left out of the official daily textbooks published by the ministry. In China’s tightly regulated Internet, discussions about Ms. Peng’s situation have been silenced.

The State Department has opposed attempts to politicize the 2022 Olympics.

Ms. Peng’s interview was given hours after Chen Qingqing, a nationalist state-owned Global Times reporter, posted a seven-second video clip on Twitter – blocked in China – in which Ms. Peng starred retired Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, who is now president of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Chen wrote that he had received the video from a friend and that it was taken on Sunday morning during the International Ski Federation’s Chinese cross-country skiing tour in Shanghai, the same event where Singaporean Lianhe Zaobao interviewed Peng.

The tennis player, who wore a black down jacket and a red T-shirt with Chinese characters, also told a reporter for Lianhe Zaobao that he had lived freely.

“Why was I supervised? I’ve always been very free,” Peng said.

Asked about two video calls the International Olympic Committee said he had with him in late November and early December, Ms. Peng confirmed that the first call was held at her home and said she was grateful to IOC President Thomas Bach and IOC Athletes Committee Chairman. Emma Terho, who led the call with her.

The first call to the IOC took place hours after Miss Peng appeared at the Beijing National Tennis Center and on social media as she was eating a meal at a restaurant.

At the time, the IOC said Ms Peng was safe at her home in Beijing and that she had asked for her privacy without directly respecting the allegations of sexual offenses.

On Sunday, a Twitter account claiming to belong to Ding Lille, one of the people who had previously shared pictures of a meal with Miss Peng, posted a series of pictures of the tennis player with several people, including Mr. Yao. Mr. Ding did not respond immediately to the request for comment. Mr Yao did not respond immediately to the request for comments sent to the Foundation.

On November 26, a screenshot of an email dated November 22, signed in the name of Ms. Peng and addressed to Mr. Simon, was also posted to the account, saying she had sent the email to her and three other people on November 17. The email also said he hoped people would not make a sensation about his private business.

Asked about her plans to travel abroad, Ms. Peng said in an interview, “If you want me to go abroad to see the tournament, that would be normal. But you can’t say I should go abroad to prove something. What would I do to go abroad, tell me.”

Write Sha Hua at [email protected]