The former world No. 1 in doubles accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on social media of forcing her to have sex.
The executive director of the WTA, which organizes the world women’s tennis circuit, expressed on Wednesday his “concern” for the safety of Peng Shuai and expressed his doubts about the official information from China about the disappearance of the tennis player.
“The statement published today (Wednesday) by the Chinese official media regarding Peng Shuai only increases my concern regarding his safety and his location,” Steve Simon wrote in a text published this day.
“I find it hard to believe that Peng Shuai actually wrote the mail we received and that she can think of the words attributed to her,” he adds.
“Peng Shuai has shown incredible courage by denouncing the sexual violence of which she claims to have been the victim by a senior leader of the country,” adds Simon, who demands “independent and corroborable evidence” that the player is in good shape. state.
“I have tried on several occasions to contact her through different communication channels, to no avail,” explains Simon, who asks that Peng Shuai “be allowed to express herself freely, without coercion or intimidation of any kind.”
The 35-year-old former world No. 1 in doubles, 35, accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, who was one of China’s most powerful politicians from 2013 to 2018, on social media of having forced her to have sex.
The explosive accusation appeared briefly on November 2 on the official Weibo account of the 2014 Roland Garros winning tennis player in pairs.
As of November 4, China blocked any reference to that message attributed to Peng Shuai, and that AFP has not been able to confirm with certainty that it was written by her, while her environment refused to make any comment.
Since then, the player has shown no signs of life and Zhang Gaoli has not reacted publicly to the allegations either. (D)
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