"Interview does not alleviate our concerns" says WTA Chief on Peng Shuai

The Women’s Tennis Association says its concerns over Peng Shuai have not been alleviated by an interview with L’Equipe.

Peng Shuai sat down with L'Equipe for an interview that was conducted in a highly controlled setting. The newspaper had to submit questions beforehand and not many people were impressed with it. In the French newspaper’s article, Peng described reports she accused a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault as a “huge misunderstanding” as she repeated her denial the alleged incident took place.

At the same time, a statement was released by the International Olympic Committee confirming Peng had dinner on Saturday with its president Thomas Bach and the former chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Kirsty Coventry. The WTA released a response with WTA CEO Steve Simon saying:

"It’s always good to see Peng Shuai, whether in an interview or attending the Olympic Games. However, her recent in-person interview does not alleviate any of our concerns about her initial post from November 2. To reiterate our view, Peng took a bold step in publicly coming forth with the accusation that she was sexually assaulted by a senior Chinese government leader."

It further said:

“As we would do with any of our players globally, we have called for a formal investigation into the allegations by the appropriate authorities and an opportunity for the WTA to meet with Peng – privately – to discuss her situation. We continue to hold firm on our position and our thoughts remain with Peng Shuai.”