With this interview, tennis star Peng Shuai (35) wants to create clarity – but actually the case of the Chinese only becomes more puzzling …
In a video interview with the newspaper “Lianhe Zaobao” from Singapore, the tennis player has now denied having made charges of sexual assault against a top Chinese politician.
Peng Shuai said, “I have to emphasize one point that is extremely important: I have never said or written that anyone sexually assaulted me. I have to admit that. ”She feels misunderstood. Statements that are difficult to believe after the events of the last few weeks.
Review: At the beginning of November, the two-time Grand Slam winner in doubles (Wimbledon 2013, French Open 2014) wrote on the Chinese social network Weibo: “Why did you bring me to your home to force me to have sex with you? Yes, I had no evidence and it was just impossible to have evidence. I couldn’t describe how disgusted I was and how many times I wondered if I was still human? I feel like a walking corpse. I played every day … “
The allegations were directed against the former party functionary of the Communist Party (KP), Zhang Gaoli (75). After just 20 minutes, the post with their allegations disappeared, and state censorship also banned any discussion of the topic on the Internet. Particularly worrying: Peng Shuai also disappeared from the scene.
“Lots of misunderstandings”
With the current interview, Peng Shuai has now spoken directly for the first time in front of the camera. The interview took place on Sunday on the sidelines of a cross-country skiing event in Shanghai. In the video interview, Peng Shuai described her Weibo post as a “private matter.” “Many misunderstandings” may have occurred among readers, said the tennis star.
In response to the post, athletes, politicians and human rights activists from around the world expressed their concern for the tennis player’s well-being. Because the signals from China about the fate of the 35-year-olds weren’t enough, the WTA women’s tour suspended all tournaments in China and Hong Kong at the beginning of December, even though China is an important donor.
The case also overshadows preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. The German President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, came under pressure after speaking to the tennis star on video channels. He repeated on Saturday in a “sports show” interview that the IOC continued to rely on “quiet diplomacy” in their case.
In the interview, Peng Shuai also emphasized that she lives unhindered in Beijing and is not under supervision: “Why should someone monitor me? I’ve always been free. ”She also wrote her email to WTA boss Steve Simon from mid-November of her own free will. In it she had already emphasized that the reports about her, “including the allegation of sexual assault”, were not true and that she was fine. The letter, however, only increased the WTA’s concern.
When asked if she wanted to travel abroad, Peng Shuai pointed out that she no longer actively plays tennis and that she currently has no intention of leaving China because of the pandemic: “What should I do out there now?”
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