Peng Shuai interview ‘does not alleviate any of our concerns’ – WTA

The Women’s Tennis Association says its concerns over Peng Shuai have not been alleviated by an interview with L’Equipe.

In the French newspaper’s article, Peng described reports she accused a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault as a “huge misunderstanding” as she repeated her denial the alleged incident took place.

The former doubles world number one had said in a social media post in November that she was forced to have sex with former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli. Her post was swiftly deleted and her subsequent silence raised fears over her safety.

“It’s always good to see Peng Shuai, whether in an interview or attending the Olympic Games. However, her recent in-person interview does not alleviate any of our concerns about her initial post from November 2nd. We continue to hold firm on our position."

— wta (@WTA) February 7, 2022

The L’Equipe interview, during which she was accompanied by Chinese Olympic Committee chief of staff Wang Kan who translated her responses, was published on Monday.

At the same time, a statement was released by the International Olympic Committee confirming Peng had dinner on Saturday with its president Thomas Bach and the former chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Kirsty Coventry.

WTA chairman and chief executive Steve Simon said in a statement released on Monday evening: “It’s always good to see Peng Shuai, whether in an interview or attending the Olympic Games.

“However, her recent in-person interview does not alleviate any of our concerns about her initial post from November 2nd.

“To reiterate our view, Peng took a bold step in publicly coming forth with the accusation that she was sexually assaulted by a senior Chinese government leader.

“As we would do with any of our players