From the UN to tennis authorities, positions are increasing to ask China to shed light on the disappearance of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, who has not given any sign of life since the beginning of the month November.
The 35-year-old, former world number one doubles player and star in her country, has disappeared after accusing on social media former Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli – who was one of seven men from 2013 to 2018 most powerful politicians in China – having forced her into sex three years ago, before making her his mistress. The message was then quickly deleted.
“It would be important to have proof of where she is and to know if she is okay. And we urge that a transparent investigation be conducted into his allegations of sexual assault, ”OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell said during a press briefing at Geneva.
“We want to stress that it’s important to know where she is and what condition she is in, and how she is,” said Throssell.
The world of tennis mobilized
The WTA, the body which governs world women’s tennis, has also called for a “transparent and fair” investigation, going so far as to threaten China with no longer appearing on the planetary circuit.
“We are completely ready to withdraw (from China) our activities and face all the complications that arise from it,” Steve Simon, CEO of the WTA, warned Thursday. “Because it’s (these accusations) more important than business,” he continued.
The consequences could be notable for the organization, of which China was a major partner before the pandemic and the strict health measures that led to the cancellation of tournaments in this country.
Concern over the player has been expressed over the past few days by several big names in tennis who have joined together on social media under the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai.
From world number one Novak Djokovic, deeming the case “shocking” at the start of the week to Naomi Osaka, also claiming to be “shocked by the situation”, through the stars Alexander Zverek, Stan Wawrinka or Serena Williams, “devastated”, the biggest names in tennis reacted to voice their fears.
France and Wimbledon worried
She had posted her accusations on November 2 on her official Weibo account, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, before any reference to the post was blocked by China. AFP was unable to confirm whether it was written by Peng Shuai in person.
Since that date, the victorious player in doubles at Wimbledon (2013) and Roland-Garros (2014) has no longer appeared in public, despite an email attributed to her by the official Chinese media and broadcast on Thursday, the authenticity of which has largely been been questioned by Steve Simon.
Like the United Nations and the world of tennis, French diplomacy has also said it is “concerned about the lack of information on the situation of tennis player Peng Shuai, which worries the international community and sports circles”, in a statement released Friday by the Foreign Ministry.
Same story with Tony Estanguet, the president of the organizing committee for the Olympics-2024 in Paris, who worked with the player during the Beijing and London Games during her sports career: “today, like the whole community athletic, I am worried about Peng Shuai. We call for the greatest transparency on his situation, ”he wrote on his Twitter account.
For its part, the Lawn Tennis Association, organizer of Wimbledon, on Friday deemed the situation “worrying”, saying in a statement to have “written to the WTA to offer (its) help in their efforts to establish safety and good -being of Peng Shuai ”.