Athlete remains missing and concern, in the tennis world and beyond, increases
The executive director of the WTA, which runs the women’s world tour, said Saturday that videos published by a Chinese government-linked newspaper of tennis player Peng Shuai at dinner were “insufficient”.
“I am happy to see the videos released by the press associated with the Chinese government, which seem to show Peng Shuai in a restaurant in Beijing. While it is positive to see her, it is not clear if she is free and able to make decisions, actions, by herself , without being coerced,” said Steve Simon, in a statement released by the WTA.
According to the director, “watching videos is insufficient”, and that is why that organization remains “concerned about the health and safety of Peng Shuai”, as well as the “censorship and concealment” of the case that the tennis player denounced.
The statement comes hours after the UK asked for “verifiable evidence” of the whereabouts and condition of the tennis player, who has not appeared in public since she accused a former official of China’s ruling party of rape.
Today, the director of the official Global Times newspaper had written that Peng would appear in public “soon”, sharing the videos on the social network Twitter.
The WTA had already “threatened” to stop organizing events in that country, with the Professional Tennis Association (ATP) as well as organizations such as the UN or Amnesty International lobbying for the tennis player to be found.
The world of tennis, and sport in general, has been asking for information about its state, while in China the silence and repression of opinions, and news, continues.
Earlier this month, Peng, 35 and currently number 189 in the world, claimed in a post on her Weibo social network that Zhang Gaoli, a 75-year-old former deputy prime minister, had sexually abused her, in a message that disappeared from the internet 20 minutes later.
Peng topped the world ranking of pairs in 2012 and won at Wimbledon and Roland Garros, taking her to the height of tennis in her country.
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