Peng Shuai to make surprise appearance at Beijing 2022 Olympics

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai will be present in the Beijing Olympics' COVID-19 "bubble," officials said Thursday.

The two-time Grand Slam doubles champion will meet with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach in the Chinese capital's virtual bubble or "closed loop" zone, which was created for Games participants to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. The information was initially reported by ESPN.

The 36-year-old seemingly went missing from public view following the allegations, but she later appeared at a youth tennis event and completely withdrew the sexual assault accusations against Zhang in a newspaper interview.

Olympic Games organizer IOC has had several video calls with Peng in the past weeks, and a planned meeting with her is set to proceed during the Feb. 4 to 20 Winter Olympics, but officials did not disclose when exactly the meeting will take place.

Chinese officials have not directly commented on the allegations, but foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said his government was "always firmly opposed to acts that politicize sports" following the WTA's suspension of activities in the country.