“I’m in shock of the current situation and I’m sending love and light her way.”
World tennis champion Naomi Osaka is the latest athlete to voice concerns over the whereabouts of Peng Shuai.
The Chinese tennis star has not been seen since posting allegations of sexual assault against a former senior Chinese official.
Peng – a former world number one doubles player – posted on Chinese social media site Weibo saying that she was “forced” into a sexual relationship with Zhang Gaoli.
Her allegations, which were soon deleted from China’s internet, were made earlier this month and marked the first time that such a claim has been made against one of China’s senior political leaders.
Zhang, 75, served as China’s vice-premier between 2013 and 2018 and was a close ally of President Xi Jinping, and has not responded to her claims.
Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai accused the country's former vice premier of sexual abuse two weeks ago.
The post was removed within 20 minutes, and she hasn't been seen since.
The WTA needs to risk backlash from China to do what is right.
Censorship can’t be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/D35rrdIAJM
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) November 15, 2021
Despite her allegations, Peng stated she would not be able to provide evidence to support her claims.
There have been concerns among the global tennis community as Peng has not been seen since posting the allegation.
Although the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said it had confirmed that she was “safe and not under any physical threat”, they were not able to directly reach her.
Chief Executive of the WTA Steve Simon said the WTA had received confirmation from several sources – including the Chinese Tennis Association – that Ms Peng was safe, but did add that he had not been able to reach her directly.
“My understand is that she is in Beijing in China, but I can’t confirm that because I haven’t spoken directly with her,” Mr Simon told news outlet The New York Times.
On Tuesday (16 November), four-time Grand Slam singles champion Osaka expressed her concern about Peng.
. #WhereIsPengShuai pic.twitter.com/51qcyDtzLq
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) November 16, 2021
“I was recently informed of a fellow tennis player that has gone missing shortly after revealing that she has been sexually abused,” Ms Osaka tweeted, using the hashtag #WhereisPengShuai.
“I hope Peng Shuai and her family are safe and ok. I’m in shock of the current situation and I’m sending love and light her way.”
It comes after twenty-time Men’s Grand Slam champion Djokovic spoke about the situation, stating that it is ‘shocking’ that she hasn’t been seen.
Since Peng’s post was taken down from the site, all mention of her on social media have been scrubbed and she has not been seen or heard of publicly.
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