Photos of 'missing' Chinese tennis star fail to allay concerns

BEIJING • Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, whose whereabouts have been a matter of international concern for weeks, attended a tennis event in Beijing yesterday, according to official photos published by the tournament organised by China Open.

Ms Peng was among guests at the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger Finals. Pictures published on the event's official WeChat page show her wearing a dark blue jacket and white trousers.

The former doubles world No. 1 had not been seen or heard from publicly since she said on Chinese social media on Nov 2 that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli had coerced her into sex and that they later had an on-off consensual relationship.

Neither Zhang nor the Chinese government has commented on her allegation. Ms Peng's social media post was quickly deleted and the topic has been blocked from discussion on China's heavily censored Internet.

World tennis bodies have expressed concern, with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) threatening to pull tournaments out of China. The United States and Britain have called for evidence of Ms Peng's whereabouts and safety.

The photographs and video footage of Ms Peng that emerged yesterday remain "insufficient" and do not address the WTA's concerns, a spokesman for the group said. The US and British embassies in Beijing did not respond to requests for comment.

The issue of Ms Peng's safety comes as China prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing next February and amid calls from global rights groups and others for a boycott of the event over the country's human rights record.

A photo of Ms Peng at the Fila tournament was also posted on Twitter by Mr Ding Li, a senior executive of Global D-Sports, a company that corporate information app Tianyancha says organises sport events and manages athletes.

Mr Ding, who said he was Ms Peng's long-time friend, added that her phone is always switched on, so the WTA could just call her.

WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon told Time magazine last week that the organisation had tried to contact her via various means.

Mr Ding said Ms Peng was not accepting foreign media interviews as she had received many calls after Mr Simon sent an e-mail to her assistant that contained her contact information, and copied a number of people in his message.

The WTA did not respond to a request for comment on that e-mail. Twitter is blocked in China.

Last Saturday night, Ms Peng visited a popular restaurant in downtown Beijing for a meal that Mr Ding attended, according to photos he posted on Twitter.

Mr Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-backed Global Times, had reposted a video of the outing, which a restaurant manager also confirmed yesterday.

Seven people including Ms Peng were at the Sichuanese restaurant, said the manager, Ms Zhou Hongmei. She added that the group ate in a private room and were joined by the restaurant's owner.

"It was crowded at the restaurant as usual," Ms Zhou said, showing a bill that included noodles and bamboo shoots. "They didn't have much. I think they mostly chatted."

Mr Hu of the Global Times also tweeted Ms Peng's appearance at the tennis tournament. The Global Times is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party.

Videos posted by Mr Hu and a Global Times reporter showed Ms Peng smiling, waving and signing autographs for children.

Searches on Chinese platforms for social media posts on Ms Peng's allegations continued to yield no results yesterday.

On some video-sharing websites like Bilibili, Ms Peng's name was also not found in searches. Some old videos featuring Ms Peng could still be found, but access to their comments sections was locked.

Chinese state media outlet CGTN last Wednesday released what it said was an e-mail that Ms Peng had sent to WTA's Mr Simon, in which she said the allegation of assault was untrue.

Mr Simon said then that he had a hard time believing that Ms Peng herself had written the e-mail.

Ms Peng, 35, is a three-time Olympian whose tennis career began more than two decades ago.

REUTERS