Claim contradicts Chinese
Tennis player’s
Social Media post in which she accused senior party figure of coercing her into sex
![Peng Shuai retracts sexual assault claims as fears over wellbeing persist](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/24bdf0e6a66cc608b02a4c09825c3ce76eb21713/0_881_1612_966/master/1612.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=5b36b9145dda12212075bd00b6f18f0f)
The Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied that she had accused a former senior official of having sexually assaulted her, in what is believed to be the first foreign press interview since her November essay caused a media storm.
“I wanted to make this very clear: I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me,” Peng said. “With regards to Weibo, it’s about my personal privacy ... There’s been a lot of misunderstanding … There [should be] no distorted interpretation.”