WTA chief Steve Simon said on Monday that the WTA remains concerned for the wellbeing of Peng Shuai after she issued another denial of her sexual assault allegations.
Peng Shuai alleged on social media in November that she was sexually assaulted by the former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli.
The post was deleted and she was out of the public eye for three weeks with no one knowing where she was. She has subsequently appeared at a handful of public events and denied ever making the accusation against Zhang.
On Sunday Peng Shuai gave an interview to French daily L’Equipe in which she once again denied making her initial allegations.
“I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way,” Peng said, insisting that her initial post had been the subject of a “huge misunderstanding” by the outside world.
Peng was accompanied by Chinese Olympic Committee chief of staff Wang Kan during the interview with L’Equipe, which took place on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics.
The WTA, which has suspended tournaments in China over the case, said in a statement on Monday it remained concerned over Peng’s wellbeing.
WTA remains unmoved by Peng Shuai’s carefully managed interview with L’Equipe.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) February 7, 2022
Statement out just now: pic.twitter.com/JaErUON2oj
Sources: BBC, MSN
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