TENNIS STAR SERENA WILLIAMS ‘DEVASTATED AND SHOCKED’ ABOUT MISSING CHINESE PLAYER PENG SHUAI

Serena Williams has become the latest tennis great to speak up in support of Chinese player Peng Shuai, who hasn’t appeared in public since publishing allegations of an affair with a retired top official. “I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai,” Williams wrote to her 10.7 million Twitter followers.

“I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent.” Williams said she was “sending love” to Peng and her family “during this incredibly difficult time,” before signing off with the hashtag #whereispengshuai. The post had received more than 132.6K likes and 41,000 retweets.

The call for support from arguably the best known player in women’s tennis came a day after Chinese state media circulated a letter attributed to Peng, saying that she was “safe” and “resting.” Women’s Tennis Association Chairman Steve Simon said he had a “hard time believing” the email was written by Peng or on her behalf.

In an interview Thursday with CNN, Simon reaffirmed the WTA’s willingness to cease operations in China if Peng wasn’t accounted for. “We’re definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it,” he said, adding that “this is bigger than the business.”

Other top tennis figures including Naomi Osaka, Novak Djokovic and Chris Evert have expressed shock over Peng’s case. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian reiterated in a news briefing Thursday in Beijing that the ministry wasn’t aware of the situation and that it wasn’t a diplomatic matter. There was no mention of Peng in the ministry’s official readout.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper, separately played down concerns about Peng’s wellbeing in a cryptic tweet that underscored the political sensitivity of the matter. “As a person who is familiar with Chinese system, I don’t believe Peng Shuai has received retaliation and repression speculated by foreign media for the thing people talked about,” Hu said.

As a person who is familiar with Chinese system, I don’t believe Peng Shuai has received retaliation and repression speculated by foreign media for the thing people talked about. I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai.

I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent. Sending love to her and her family during this incredibly difficult time. #whereispengshuai

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