Wimbledon Last night, bosses joined the calls to prove that a Chinese tennis player is safe after she accused a top Communist Party official of sexual abuse.
The disappearance Peng Shuai sparked international concern. Chinese state media released videos that showed Peng alive and well.
However, experts questioned the authenticity and claimed that the videos did not do enough to calm concerns about Peng’s well-being at age 35.
BIZARRE: A picture of Peng Shuai on Twitter said to have been supplied by a ‘friend’
The All England Tennis Club said it had been working ‘behind the scenes’ to establish Peng’s safety.
She has not been seen since accusing Zhang Gaoli, a former member of the party’s ruling inner circle, earlier this month.
The videos, shared by the editor of Global Times – an English-language newspaper published by the Communist Party – profess to show Peng ‘having dinner with her coach and friends in a restaurant’.
The editor of Global Times, Hu Xijin, claimed on Twitter that the videos ‘clearly show they are shot on Saturday, Beijing time’.
After sharing bizarre photos and an email claiming to be written by Peng, the Chinese state media made a third effort to calm fears about the missing tennis player.
As well as the videos, photographs of Peng posing with children’s toys were posted by an employee of Chinese state television on Twitter, which is blocked to users in China.
It was claimed that the pictures and a message saying ‘Happy Weekend’ had been supplied by a ‘friend’ of the tennis star, but it was unclear when or where they had been taken and did little to dispel concerns over her safety.
Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Serena Williams were pictured this month at the Stockholm Open.
The Communist Party is facing a growing demands from politicians and the tennis establishment to prove that the three-time Olympian and former women’s doubles number one is safe and can speak freely.
The Women’s Tennis Association has threatened to cancel tournaments in China unless Peng’s safety is assured.
Andy Murray, Serena Williams and others are asking for details about her welfare.