Women’s Tennis Association head casts doubt on purported Peng Shuai email
- ‘I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her,’ says WTA chairman
- ‘The statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts,’ he says
The head of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) on Wednesday said he was increasingly concerned about the well-being of Chinese tennis pro Peng Shuai and doubted the legitimacy of an email purportedly written by Peng and released by Chinese state media.
“The statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts,” Steve Simon, WTA chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
“I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her,” said Simon, who said that he had repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to reach Peng through multiple channels.
Peng has disappeared from the public eye ever since she alleged in a since-deleted social media post that a former high ranking Chinese official pressured her into having sex.
Earlier on Wednesday, state news broadcaster CGTN tweeted a screenshot of text it said was an email sent to WTA by Peng, in which she said allegations of sexual assault were “untrue” and that she was neither missing nor unsafe. “I’ve just been resting at home and everything is fine,” the email said.
Release of the alleged communication was met with widespread scepticism online, with many highlighting the fact that a cursor was still visible in the text, suggesting the screenshot was taken either before the email was sent or as it was being crafted in a text document.
