Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, on Sunday, said that she had never accused anyone of sexual assault and that her social media post was misunderstood. The player’s well-being has been a matter of concern in recent months among the tennis family and among rights groups as she appeared to allege that a former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past. After that post, she was absent from public view for nearly three weeks.
"First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important, I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me, I have to clearly stress this point," Peng said in the video posted by Lianhe Zaobao, a Singapore media outlet, according to Reuters.
The statement is the first time she has spoken about the matter publicly since the social media post, which was removed as well. Peng spoke on the sidelines of a cross-country skiing event in Shanghai that she attended. She said that her post on Weibo, a Twitter like social media site, was a “private matter”.
Peng, 35, said in the video that "people have many misunderstandings" about her Weibo post. She did not elaborate. She also mentioned that she had been living at home in Beijing without supervision and did not mention Zhang.
Early in December, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which has sought a direct line of communication with Peng, said that they would suspend tournaments in China immediately due to concerns over the treatment of Peng and other players.
China has not directly commented on Peng's initial post, but said after the WTA's move to suspend tournaments in China that it "opposes the politicisation of sports".
The matter, which came to light just China get set to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February, has been heavily censored in China.
Peng said that she had personally written a letter last month to WTA head Steve Simon, in which she denied the allegation of assault, and that an English translation of it by Chinese state media was accurate.
Simon had said at the time that he "had a hard time believing" that Peng had actually written the email or believed what had been attributed to her.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has previously held two video calls with the 35-year-old.
(With Reuters inputs)
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