The
35-year-old
had
been
widely
considered
to
have
been
missing
since
making
sexual
assault
allegations
against
Zhang
Gaol,
the
ex-vice
premier
and
member
of
the
Chinese
Communist
Party’s
Politburo
Standing
Committee,
more
than
three
weeks
ago.

According
to
the
IOC,
Peng
said
she
is
“safe
and
well”
in
the
call
with
president
Bach
on
Sunday.

The
IOC
said
in
a
statement
that
Peng
had
spoken
to
president
Bach
for
30
minutes.

“She
explained
that
she
is
safe
and
well,
living
at
her
home
in
Beijing,
but
would
like
to
have
her
privacy
respected
at
this
time,”
the
statement
added.

“That
is
why
she
prefers
to
spend
her
time
with
friends
and
family
right
now.
Nevertheless,
she
will
continue
to
be
involved
in
tennis,
the
sport
she
loves
so
much.”

In
response,
a
WTA
spokesperson
said:
“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.

“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.”

Despite
footage
released
by
Chinese
state-run
media
on
Saturday
purporting
to
show
Peng
in
a
restaurant
with
friends,
followed
by
images
of
her
at
a
youth
tournament
on
Sunday,
concerns
have
continued
to
be
raised
regarding
her
safety.

Serena
Williams,
Naomi
Osaka
and
Novak
Djokovic
are
among
those
to
have
called
for
answers
on
Peng’s
whereabouts.