Peng Shuai retracts sexual assault claims in first interview with foreign media
Chinese tennis star tennis has retracted sexual assault claims and denied that she had made allegations against a senior Chinese minister on social media.
In her first interview with foreign press since her story came to light last month, the former top ranked doubles player described the storm surrounding her claims as a "misunderstanding".
"I wanted to make this very clear - I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me," Peng said. "With regards to Weibo, it's about my personal privacy ... There's been a lot of misunderstanding … There [should be] no distorted interpretation."
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The interview was with a Chinese-language publication under state control in Singapore, with footage of Peng emerging online on the weekend. In it, she was seen speaking to two people, one being former Chinese basketball player Yao Ming.
During the interview, Peng was asked about her email response to the WTA's CEO, Steve Simon, last month, where she claimed she was "not missing.... just been resting at home and everything is fine. Thank you again for caring about me."
She said the Chinese version was written by her and then translated on the state-owned English-language broadcaster. She said her English wasn't strong enough to translate herself.
The WTA boss said at the time he "had a hard time believing" that Peng had written the email.
Her comments during the interview contradicted the social media post she uploaded in early November, in which she accused the former vice premier Zhang Gaoli of forcing himself on her.
Peng Shuai Getty
Within thirty minutes the post was pulled from the internet, and the tennis player became the subject of a global media campaign after she disappeared from public view more than a fortnight after publishing the accusations.
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