Coco Gauff said on Friday that there are “still a lot of questions” regarding Peng Shuai’s situation as international women’s tennis returns to Beijing for the first time since the Chinese star filed sexual assault charges against a prominent government official.
Peng, a former doubles champion, went missing for weeks in late 2021 after writing on social media that she had been “forced” into sex with former vice premier Zhang Gaoli.
She eventually resurfaced and denied making the claim, but the incident forced the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to withdraw its tournaments from China pending the results of an independent investigation.
This year, the world governing body modified its stance and is hosting the China Open in Beijing.
Asked by AFP about Peng’s case, Gauff said it “was a concerning situation when it happened and there’s still a lot of questions raised about that”.
“Regarding my safety here… the hospitality that I have received so far has been really great,” the US Open champion said at a press briefing.
“I’ve felt not the slightest bit of insecurity regarding (my own safety)… but obviously, I wish (Peng) the best and I hope that she’s doing well,” the 19-year-old said.
The China Open is taking place for the first time since 2019 after Beijing scrapped its years-long, isolationist zero-Covid policy.
The WTA’s boycott was seen as largely symbolic as China’s pandemic policy barred most international sport.
The organisation said in April it would reinstate its China tournaments even though Peng’s situation “has shown no sign of changing”.
“We have concluded we will never fully secure those goals, and it will be our players and tournaments who ultimately will be paying an extraordinary price for their sacrifices,” the organisation said at the time.