Peng Shuai: I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me

08 February,2022 07:45 AM IST |  Beijing  |  AFP

Chinese tennis star Shuai denies accusing anyone of sexually assaulting her

Peng Shuai. Pic/Getty Images


Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she never accused anyone of sexual assault, in an interview published Monday, again walking back an allegation that sparked what she described as a "huge misunderstanding." The former doubles World No.1 alleged in a social media post in November that former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli forced her into sex during a years-long relationship.

The post was swiftly deleted and Peng was not heard from for nearly three weeks, prompting concern around the world about her safety. She has since appeared at some public events, and denied ever making the accusation. "I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way," Peng told the French sports daily L'Equipe on Sunday, reiterating a similar comment she gave to a Singaporean newspaper in December.

Deleted allegation herself

Peng, 36, said she was the one who deleted her allegation from Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform. It was widely suspected that China's strict internet censors, sensitive about any criticism of the ruling Communist Party, had removed it.

When L'Equipe asked why she deleted it, Peng said: "Because I wanted to. There was a huge misunderstanding in the outside world following this post," she said during the interview in the Beijing Winter Olympics bubble.

Retiring from sport

"I don't want the meaning of this post to be twisted anymore. And I don't want any further media hype around it." Peng also told L'Equipe that she was retiring from professional tennis, citing a major injury and disruptions to travel and treatment during the pandemic. Some of the world's biggest stars, including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic, spoke out about the Peng case.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
tennis news sports sports news
Related Stories