Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has continued to speak with Olympic officials since the Beijing Winter Games and wants to visit Europe soon, IOC president Thomas Bach said on Friday.
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The fallout from Peng’s allegations last November of being sexually assaulted by a Chinese Communist Party official was a serious distraction for Olympic organisers, and her interview with a French journalist in Beijing to retract her own claims, and later visits to watch medal events including with Bach, did not erase all doubts about her personal safety.
A social media hashtag “Where Is Peng Shuai?” has continued to circulate since February.
Asked about Peng’s wellbeing in an online news conference, Bach said a phone call Peng had with IOC athletes commission members this month was a “second or third” contact with her since the Olympics.
“She is looking forward to be able to come to Europe and to visit Lausanne, apparently in particular the Olympic Museum,” the IOC leader said. “Then also maybe to watch one or the other tennis tournament.”
Bach noted the strict public health and quarantine policies in China during the COVID-19 pandemic could complicate Peng’s travel plans.
“We have to see how this develops. The contact as we always said is ongoing,” he said.
However, WTA Tour chief Steve Simon said his organisation had not been in contact with the tennis player.
“We have not had any recent communication with Peng and the world has not seen Peng since the Olympics either,” Simon told the Tennis Podcast
. “I don’t think you will make change in this world by walking away from issues. You have to create change. It might not be everything we want. But we have to find a solution that finds that balance that allows us to go back and see progress in the area.”
“We remain dedicated to finding a resolution to this. We want to find a resolution that Peng can be comfortable with, the Chinese government can be comfortable with, and we can be comfortable with.
“We are not about walking away from China. We have suspended our operations there right now. We will continue to do that until we get to a resolution.
“We will stay resolute. We do hope to be back there in 2023 with the resolution that shows progress was made in the space. That’s a victory for the world if we can accomplish that.”