Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai says she has never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her, and that a social media post she made early last month has been misunderstood.
Peng's wellbeing became a matter of concern among the global tennis community and rights groups when she appeared to allege that a former Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past.
In early November Peng alleged she had an extramarital "relationship" with Zhang for several years, which he wanted to keep hidden.
She is said to have alleged that he invited her for a meal or to play tennis, with his wife present. He then allegedly pressured her for sex and the assault then allegedly occurred.
"I never consented that afternoon, crying all the time," she wrote on Weibo.
"You brought me to our house and forced me and you to have relations.
"There is no audio record, no video record, only my distorted but very real experience."
After that post, she was absent from public view for nearly three weeks.
Photo: AFP
She has now retracted that statement.
"First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important, I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me," Ms Peng said in the video posted by Lianhe Zaobao, a Singaporean Chinese-language media outlet.
"I have to clearly stress this point."
Lianhe Zaobao is the only overseas newspaper in Chinese that is widely available on the mainland.
Peng's remarks marked the first time she had addressed the matter on camera in public.
She spoke on the sidelines of a cross-country skiing event in Shanghai.
She said her post on the social media site Weibo, which had been quickly removed, was a "private matter".
Peng, 35, said in the video that "people have many misunderstandings" about her Weibo post.
She did not elaborate.
Peng also said that she had been living at home in Beijing without supervision. She did not mention Zhang.
Early this month, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which has sought a direct line of communication with Peng, said it would suspend tournaments in China immediately due to concerns over the treatment of Ms Peng and the safety of other players.
China has not directly commented on Peng's initial post, but said after the WTA's move to suspend tournaments in China that it "opposes the politicisation of sports".
Zhang has not commented on the matter.
Discussion of the scandal, which emerged as Beijing prepares to stage the Winter Olympics in February, has been heavily censored in China.
Peng Shuai has described there have been "misunderstandings" around her initial social media post. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Peng said in the video that she had personally written a letter last month to WTA head Steve Simon, in which she denied the allegation of assault, and that an English translation of it by Chinese state media was accurate.
Mr Simon had said at the time that he "had a hard time believing" that Peng had actually written the email or believed what had been attributed to her.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has held two video calls with Ms Peng.
At the Shanghai Peng appeared on a fifth-floor viewing balcony with athletes from various sports, including former NBA basketball star Yao Ming, and watched for about 20 minutes, according to the Lianhe Zaobao report.
She wore a black jacket with a China flag and a red T-shirt with the characters for China.
Reuters