By Brenda Goh

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai’s video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not address or alleviate the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) concern about her well-being, the WTA said on Monday.

The whereabouts of Peng, a former doubles world number one, became a matter of international concern nearly three weeks ago, after she alleged that China’s former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli had sexually assaulted her.

She appeared at a dinner with friends on Saturday and a children’s tennis tournament in Beijing on Sunday, photographs and videos published by Chinese state media journalists and by the tournament’s organisers show. But they have done little to quell concerns.

“It was good to see Peng Shuai in recent videos, but they don’t alleviate or address the WTA’s concern about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion,” a WTA spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

Asked about the call with the IOC, the spokeswoman said: “This video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.”

The IOC said in a statement that Peng held a 30-minute call with its president, Thomas Bach, on Sunday, during which she said she was safe and well at home in Beijing and wanted to have her privacy respected for now.

Amnesty International’s China researcher Alkan Akad told Reuters the video call did little to alleviate fears over Peng’s wellbeing.
“The International Olympic Committee is entering dangerous waters,” Akad said. “In the past we have seen various similar cases where people had no option but to say what they had been told to.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to an email request on Monday for comment on the Amnesty statement.

French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu “is partly reassured by the video but remains concerned and wants the light to be shed on the accusations of sexual assault”, her office told Reuters.