Mentioning Her Posts On Social Media Misunderstood, Tennis Star Peng Shuai: I Never Said Anyone Perpetrated Sexual Harassment

Peng Shuai (Twitter @WTA)

JAKARTA - Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has said she has never accused anyone of sexually harassing her, and pointed out that her social media posts earlier this month were widely misunderstood.

Peng's safety and security have come to the attention of the tennis community around the world and human rights groups after posts alleging that China's former deputy prime minister, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually abused her in the past. After that post, she disappeared from the public eye for nearly three weeks.

"First, I need to emphasize one very important point, I have never said or written that anyone sexually harassed me, I must clearly emphasize this point," Peng said in the video posted by Lianhe Zaobao, a Singapore media outlet, quoted by Antara from Tuesday, December 21.

Peng's remarks on Sunday marked the first time she has discussed the matter publicly on camera. She spoke on the sidelines of a cross-country ski event in Shanghai.

She said her posts on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media site, which were quickly deleted, were "private matters."

Peng, 35, in the video says that "people have a lot of misunderstandings" about her Weibo post. But she did not explain further.

She also said she was staying at her home in Beijing unsupervised. In the video, she did not mention and was not asked about Zhang.

The women's tennis association (WTA), which earlier this month said it would soon suspend tournaments in China due to concerns over Peng's treatment and the safety of other players, continued to call for an investigation.

"Once again pleased to see Peng Shuai in public and we certainly wish her well," the Florida-based WTA said in a statement.

"As we have consistently stated, this appearance does not mitigate or address the WTA's significant concerns about its safety and its ability to communicate without censorship or coercion," the WTA said.

"We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent, uncensored, investigation into her allegations of sexual harassment, which was an issue that raised our initial concern."

China has not directly commented on Peng's initial post, but said following the WTA's move to suspend tournaments in China, the Chinese government said it was "against the politicization of the sport".

Zhang has not commented on the matter.