Peng Shuai: Why questions about the Chinese tennis star's wellbeing must continue

Since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics got underway last week, stories of triumph, heartbreak and COVID-19 test results have made headlines around the world.

Eileen Gu was the star of one of the most poignant moments of the Games so far, jumping to a gold medal in the women’s freeski big air final earlier this week.

The 18-year-old was born in the United States to an American father and Chinese mother. Nicknamed the ‘Snow Princess’, she switched from representing the US to China in 2019.

Gu is now a household name in China. She boasts nearly two million followers on the social media platform Weibo, has a parallel career as a fashion model, and is often seen plastered all over the country’s billboards and magazine covers.

But as Gu spun in the air above the competition venue, she was watched by someone arguably more well-known, albeit for all the wrong reasons. Peng Shuai.

Peng, a former world number one doubles player, bravely made sexual assault allegations against China’s former Vice Premier, Zhang Gaoli, at the start of November.

In a post on Weibo, Peng claimed she was coerced into having sex with Zhang, which began an on-off consensual relationship with the former Politburo Standing Committee member.

The post was deleted 30 minutes later, and searches for “tennis”, “Peng Shuai” and “Zhang Gaoli” were temporarily blocked.

Peng also disappeared from public view for two weeks, sparking concern from the world of tennis and the wider sporting community.

Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Billie Jean King were among the high-profile figures to question the whereabouts of the Chinese star.

With the concern for Peng’s wellbeing intensifying, she suddenly appeared in a steady stream of photos and videos released