Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai Denies Making Sexual-Assault Accusations

“There’s been a great deal of misunderstanding,” Ms. Peng claimed in the job interview, describing the situation as touching on “my individual privacy.”

“There should not be any distorted interpretations,” she claimed.

Her words and phrases stick to a Nov. 2 post that appeared on Ms. Peng’s confirmed social-media account, which explained an on-and-off romantic relationship with previous Chinese Vice Premier

Zhang Gaoli

that lasted for some many years, and was sometimes consensual and sometimes associated coercion. The post alleged that in one particular occasion Mr. Zhang pressured Ms. Peng to have sexual intercourse with him, but it did not use the Chinese expression for sexual assault to describe the come upon.

The Nov. 2 post disappeared following about 20 minutes. Even though Ms. Peng’s social-media account continues to be on the net, its commenting functionality has been disabled and her title is blocked in lookups.

Ms. Peng’s job interview has not eased considerations about her, the Women’s Tennis Affiliation claimed.

“We continue being steadfast in our simply call for a full, truthful and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault,” the organization claimed.

Some global tennis stars also claimed they were being unconvinced by the movie. “Total and utter BS,” 18-time Grand Slam winner

Martina Navratilova

wrote on a

Twitter

in response to the movie.

“This is… unsettling…,”

Chris Evert,

yet another winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, wrote in her individual response on Twitter.

The Weibo post to begin with positioned Ms. Peng at the center of a media storm. Attention expanded just about two months later on on Nov. fourteen, when

Steve Simon,

chairman of the WTA, claimed the organization hadn’t been capable to attain Ms. Peng following recurring tries, and he referred to as for an investigation into her allegation.

In the job interview posted Sunday, Ms. Peng claimed she personally wrote an email in Chinese to Mr. Simon. She included that an English-language model posted on Nov. 17 by China’s state-run broadcaster CGTN, saying that the sexual-assault allegation was untrue and that “everything is fine,” was a translation.

“In phrases of indicating and the info in it, there is no variation,” she claimed of the two versions.

Mr. Simon claimed at the time it was despatched that the email elevated more considerations about her security and whereabouts. Fellow tennis stars, which include

Naomi Osaka

and

Serena Williams,

posted messages of issue for her, using the Twitter hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai.

The incident also unleashed a world-wide storm of suspicion about Ms. Peng’s wellbeing and security. Mr. Simon claimed global strain could assistance explain the situation and protect Ms Peng. As a end result, the WTA announced its suspension of long term tournaments in China previously this month. Human-legal rights organizations referred to as for a boycott of the Winter season Olympics, which are established to begin in Beijing in February, pointing to China’s human-legal rights history and insisting that Ms. Peng is not truly absolutely free.

Associates of China’s Overseas Ministry have claimed they are unaware of Ms. Peng’s allegations. Concerns and responses about Ms. Peng have been omitted from official day by day transcripts posted by the ministry. On China’s tightly regulated net, discussions of Ms. Peng’s situation have been muted.

The Overseas Ministry has protested what it claims are tries to politicize the 2022 Olympic Game titles.

Ms. Peng’s job interview came hours following Chen Qingqing, a journalist at the nationalist state-owned World Moments, posted a seven-next movie clip on Twitter—which is blocked in China—showing Ms. Peng with retired Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, who is now chairman of the Chinese Basketball Affiliation.

Ms. Chen wrote that she had obtained the movie from a pal and that it had been taken on Sunday early morning throughout the Global Ski Federation’s Cross-Nation Skiing China Metropolis Tour in Shanghai, the identical function at which Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao interviewed Ms. Peng.

The tennis participant, sporting a black down jacket and a red T-shirt emblazoned with the figures for China, also claimed to the reporter from Lianhe Zaobao that she had been dwelling freely.

“Why would I be under surveillance? I’ve constantly been incredibly absolutely free,” Ms. Peng claimed.

Asked about two movie phone calls, the Global Olympic Committee claimed it had with her in late November and early December, Ms. Peng confirmed that the 1st one particular took area at her residence and claimed she was grateful to IOC President

Thomas Bach

and IOC Athletes’ Commission Chairwoman

Emma Terho,

who performed the simply call with her.

The 1st simply call with the IOC occurred hours following Ms. Peng appeared at Beijing’s National Tennis Center and in footage found on social media of her obtaining a food at a restaurant.

At the time, the IOC claimed that Ms. Peng was safe and sound at residence in Beijing and that she had requested for her privacy to be highly regarded, without instantly addressing the sexual-assault allegations.

On Sunday, a Twitter account purporting to belong to Ding Li, one particular of the individuals who had previously shared shots of the food with Ms. Peng, posted a series of shots of the tennis participant with numerous individuals, which include Mr. Yao. Mr. Ding did not promptly reply to a request for comment. Mr. Yao did not promptly reply to a request for comment submitted to his basis.

On Nov. 26, the account also posted a screenshot of an email dated Nov. 22, signed with Ms. Peng’s title and tackled to a Mr. Simon, saying she had despatched an email to him and three other individuals on Nov. 17. The email also claimed she hoped individuals wouldn’t sensationalize her non-public small business.

When requested about her programs to travel abroad, Ms. Peng claimed in her job interview: “If you want me to go abroad and observe a tournament, that would be typical. But you cannot say I should go abroad to establish a thing. What would I be doing by heading abroad, tell me.”

Publish to Sha Hua at [email protected]