Peng Shuai has suggested she is unlikely to return to the WTA Tour in an interview with L'Equipe at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Peng gave her first interview to a Western media outlet since accusing a former Chinese party leader of sexual assault.
The 35-year-old, a former world number one doubles player, made the allegations against China’s former Vice Premier, Zhang Gaoli, at the start of November.
Peng claimed she was coerced into having sex with Zhang, which began an on-off consensual relationship with the former Politburo Standing Committee member.
Her post was deleted around 30 minutes after it was published, and she subsequently disappeared from public view for three weeks, sparking serious concern about her wellbeing.
Peng has now given an interview with L'Equipe. The meeting was granted by the Chinese Olympic Committee, whose chief of staff sat in on the encounter.
The French newspaper had to submit questions prior to the interview, but claimed it was able to ask more during the interview.
During the interview, Peng denied making the sexual assault accusations. It is the second time she has done this, having first denied making the claims to a Chinese-language Singaporean newspaper in December.
"This post has given rise to a huge misunderstanding from the outside world,” Peng told L'Equipe. “I hope that the meaning of this post will no longer be twisted. And I also hope that we don't add more hype to this.”
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 23: Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China during their Women's Doubles first round match against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Alison Riske of the United States on day four of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
She claimed she had deleted the post because she “wanted to”, but did not elaborate on how the post had been misunderstood.
Peng also suggested she would not return to playing tennis at a professional level.
"Considering my age, my multiple surgeries and the pandemic that forced me to stop for so long, I believe it will be very difficult to regain my physical level," she said.
After disappearing from public view for a period last year, Peng was then shown in a steady stream of photos and videos released by Chinese Government-controlled media on Twitter.
She was shown having a video call with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, during which she said she was “safe and well”.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 21: Shuai Peng of China plays a backhand during her Women's Singles first round match against Nao Hibino of Japan on day two of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 21, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Despite this, the WTA said it still had “significant concerns” about Peng Shuai’s “well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion”.
With the governing body unable to get in contact with the tennis star, it withdrew from all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong.
In the L'Equipe interview, Peng said she "never disappeared" and did not understand the level of concern.
“It’s just that a lot of people, like my friends, including from the IOC, messaged me, and it was quite impossible to reply to so many messages,” she said.
The IOC has now confirmed Bach and Peng had dinner on Saturday, alongside former chair of the Athletes' Commission Kirsty Coventry.
“During the dinner, the three spoke about their common experience as athletes at the Olympic Games, and Peng Shuai spoke of her disappointment at not being able to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” a statement said.
The IOC added that Peng had accepted an invitation to meet again in Europe and to stay in contact with Coventry.
Peng Shuai