Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Chairman and CEO, Steve Simon on Wednesday cast 'concerns' on an email posted in China's media purportedly from tennis star Peng Shuai.
Peng, 35, a doubles champion at Wimbledon and the French Open, accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault according to screenshots of a since-deleted Weibo post dated November 2. Notably, Peng has not been heard from since alleging against the Chinese politician.
However, state-run CGTN on Wednesday published a screenshot on Twitter of what it said was an email written by Peng to Simon and other WTA officials. In the email, Peng purportedly claims that her earlier accusations of sexual abuse are "not true" and says she is "resting at home and everything is fine."
Steve Simon in a statement then said that he had a "hard time believing" the email was written by Peng.
"The statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts," the statement by Simon read.
"I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her. Peng Shuai displayed incredible courage in describing an allegation of sexual assault against a former top official in the Chinese government. The WTA and the rest of the world need independent and verifiable proof that she is safe. I have repeatedly tried to reach her via numerous forms of communication, to no avail," he added.
"Peng Shuai must be allowed to speak freely, without coercion or intimidation from any source. Her allegation of sexual assault must be respected, investigated with full transparency and without censorship. The voices of women need to be heard and respected, not censored nor dictated to," he pointed.
( With inputs from ANI )
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