Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai again denies sexual assault

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has again denied alleging sexual assault, in her first interview with Western media since she accused a Chinese party leader of coercing her into sex, BBC reports. 

Peng spoke to French newspaper L'Equipe at the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Sunday.

She sparked global concern last year when she briefly disappeared from public view after posting online.

She has since dismissed the concerns and says she is living a normal life.

The interview on Sunday was granted to the French newspaper following permission from the Chinese Olympic Committee, whose representative also sat in on the hotel room meeting. The paper had to submit questions prior to the interview but said it was able to ask more on the day.

During the interview, the 36-year-old indicated that she was unlikely to return to the professional tennis circuit given previous injuries and the pandemic's disruptions.

"Considering my age, my multiple surgeries and the pandemic that forced me to stop for so long, I believe it will be very difficult to regain my physical level," she told L'Equipe.

The IOC on Monday also reported that the Chinese athlete had had dinner with IOC president Thomas Bach in Beijing on Saturday, a follow-up meeting for the pair.

Bach had been one of the first authorities to vouch for Peng's welfare after he held a video call with her during the period of concern about her treatment by state authorities.

The Women's Tennis Association cancelled its games in China in the wake of such concerns, and led calls for an investigation into her claims.

In the interview on Sunday, Peng said she was thankful for the attention from fans and other tennis players who mounted a #WhereIsPengShuai social media campaign, but said: "I didn't think there would be such concern and I would like to know: why such concern?

"I never said anyone sexually assaulted me."

The 36-year-old said she never "disappeared", but had been contacted by so many people after her social media post that it was "impossible" for her to reply to everyone. She said she had chosen to delete the post soon after publication.

"This post has given rise to a huge misunderstanding from the outside world. I hope that the meaning of this post will no longer be distorted. And I also hope that we don't add more hype to this."

In her original note, which was posted on the Chinese social media platform Weibo in November, she accused former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of forcing her to have sex with him.

The 1,600-word note, addressed to Zhang, said they had had a romantic relationship and that he had also coerced her into having sex. "Why did you come back and seek me out, take me to your home, and force me to have sex with you," read one line.

The post was swiftly scrubbed from Weibo, but not before it quickly went viral.

Peng then vanished from public life for weeks, sparking global concern for her safety. A #WhereIsPengShuai campaign was launched, fuelled by calls from other tennis stars including Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.