Peng Shuai Denies Accusing Chinese Official Of Sexual Assault, Announces Retirement From Tennis
In an hour-long interview with L’Equipe, a French newspaper, tennis star Peng Shuai denied accusing a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault and announced her retirement from competitive tennis.
“Sexual assault? I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way,” said Peng when asked by L’Equipe.
Peng’s safety has been a concern since her November 2 social media post in which she accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her three years ago following a round of tennis. She also said Zhang’s wife guarded the door. Her post was deleted nearly 30 minutes after publication and Peng’s account on Weibo — a Chinese social media platform — was blocked from searchers on the platform.
“This post has given rise to a huge misunderstanding from the outside world,” Peng said when asked about the Weibo post. “I hope that we no longer distort the meaning of this post. And I also hope that we don’t add more hype on this.”
Peng told the newspaper that she deleted the post, and also denied disappearing from the public eye.- READ MORE
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