(Beijing) Tennis star Naomi Osaka said she is stunned to learn that a colleague has been silent since she made allegations of sexual assault against a former top Chinese Communist leader.
The ex-world No. 1, holder of four Grand Slam titles, posted a message on social networks Wednesday to relaunch the research: where is Peng Shuai?
In his Twitter post on Wednesday – under the hashtag WhereIsPengShuai – Osaka wrote: “I don’t know if you’ve been following the news lately, but I was recently informed that a tennis player disappeared shortly after revealing that she had been sexually assaulted. Censorship is never acceptable, no matter what. ”
The 24-year-old Japanese, who has not appeared on the WTA tour since losing to Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez at the US Open in September, said she hopes Peng and her family “Are safe”.
“I’m stunned by the current situation,” she said, “and I stand with her wholeheartedly. ”
Other star players have also spoken, including world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and leaders of the men’s and women’s professional circuits have already demanded an investigation into the allegations made by the holder of two doubles Grand Slam titles.
PHOTO FRED DUFOUR, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
Peng Shuai on October 3, 2016
In a long social media post that quickly disappeared, Peng wrote that Zhang Gaoli, a former deputy prime minister and member of the powerful Communist Party political bureau, had forced her to have sex with him despite his numerous refusals, following a tennis match held three years ago. She added that they also had sex seven years ago, and then developed feelings for him.
Peng is a former world no.1 doubles – she won 23 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including those at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014.
The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the message, which was published Tuesday evening from its official Weibo account, a flagship social media platform in China. The post was quickly deleted, and a search for Peng’s account on Weibo subsequently returned no results. Neither she nor Zhang could be reached for comment.
These are the first allegations against an influential Chinese politician since the #metoo wave started in China in 2018, a move that was quickly muzzled by authorities in the same year.
Zhang retired in 2018 and disappeared from the public eye, like many Chinese politicians after their careers ended.
Peng has not played on the WTA tour since the Qatar Open in February 2020. In singles, she reached the four-finals at the US Open in 2014 and the round of 16 at the Qatar Open in 2014. Australia in 2015. She has never crossed the third round of a major tournament since Wimbledon in 2017.