"Missing Person Rumors" Peng Shuai Says "I Never Said I Was Sexually Assaulted"

First Media Interview After Sexual Assault Revelation

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai [Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who had claimed to have been sexually assaulted by former Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, said in her first interview since the revelation that she "never said she was sexually assaulted."

According to major foreign media on the 20th, Peng Shuai met with Singapore daily Zaobao and at a Shanghai cross-country skiing event the day before, stating, "Many people are misunderstanding. I want to emphasize again that I have never said or written that I was sexually assaulted by anyone."

Peng Shuai, who once reached world No. 1 in women's doubles tennis, revealed on Chinese social media Weibo on the 2nd that she was sexually assaulted by former Vice Premier Zhang, one of the top leaders during Xi Jinping's first term. However, the post was deleted within 20 minutes, and Peng Shuai disappeared for several weeks, raising concerns in the international community.

In the interview, Peng Shuai explained the deletion of the Weibo post as a "personal matter." She did not mention former Vice Premier Zhang, who was accused as the perpetrator of sexual assault.

Once rumored to be missing, she denied various speculations about her whereabouts in the interview. Peng Shuai said, "I am currently living in my home in Beijing without surveillance." Regarding the controversy over the authenticity of the English email she sent last month to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) denying the sexual assault allegations, she said, "The English translation by Chinese state media is accurate."

This is the first time Peng Shuai has appeared directly in the media since the revelation. It was reported that she watched a game for about 20 minutes at the event with several athletes, including former NBA player Yao Ming.

Peng Shuai is a player who won the women's doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014, and reached No. 1 in the doubles world rankings in 2014. On the 2nd of last month, she revealed on Weibo that she had an affair with former Vice Premier Zhang from 2007 to 2012 when he was the Party Secretary of Tianjin, but their relationship ended and then resumed about three years ago, during which she was sexually assaulted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.