Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka today expressed her solidarity with China’s Peng Shuai, who denounced having been sexually assaulted by a former vice prime minister from his country at the beginning of the month and from which there has been no news since then.
“I recently found out about a fellow tennis player who disappeared shortly after revealing that she had been sexually abused,” Osaka said. in a message published through his official profile on social networks.
“Censorship is never okay under any circumstances, I hope Peng Shuai and her family are safe and sound.”said the Japanese tennis player, who is ranked 13th in the WTA world rankings.
“I am shocked by the situation,” added the Japanese star, who also wanted to send “love and light” to the Chinese tennis player. and published the tag “#whereispengshuai”, used to report the case of the athlete on social networks.
Osaka thus joins other voices from the tennis world who have drawn attention to the Peng case, one of China’s best-known sports figures, who accused his country’s former vice prime minister Zhang Gaoli of sexual abuse.
Peng made his complaint on his Weibo social network account at the beginning of the month, but the message disappeared a few hours later.
The 35-year-old world No. 189 player said that Zhang, aged 75, Chinese vice president between 2012 and 2017 and considered one of the most influential men in Chinese politics of the past decade, forced her into relationships.
The WTA, for its part, also expressed the solidarity of this institution with the Chinese tennis player and requested the opening of an investigationn on the subject, through statements by its president, Steve Simon.
This complaint was added last Monday by the ATP, body that demanded a “complete, clear and transparent investigation” to guarantee the safety of the tennis player.