Missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai reappears in public at Beijing event

Peng Shuai reappeared in public Sunday at a youth tournament in Beijing, according to photos released by the organizer.

Missing tennis star Peng Shuai reappeared in public Sunday at a youth tournament in Beijing, according to photos released by the organizer, as the ruling Communist Party tried to quell fears abroad while suppressing information in China about Peng after she accused a senior leader of sexual assault.

The post by the China Open on the Weibo social media service made no mention of Peng’s disappearance or her accusation. The three-time Olympian and former Wimbledon champion was shown standing beside a court, waving and signing oversize commemorative tennis balls for children.

The ruling party appears to be trying to defuse alarm about Peng without acknowledging her disappearance after she on Nov. 2 accused Zhang Gaoli, a member of the party’s ruling Standing Committee until 2018, of forcing her to have sex.

Peng’s disappearance and official silence in response to appeals for information prompted calls for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February, a prestige event for the Communist Party. The women’s professional tour threatened to pull events out of China unless the safety of the former No. 1 doubles player was assured.

Discussion of Peng’s accusation has been deleted from websites in China. A government spokesman on Friday denied knowing about the outcry. The ruling party’s internet filters also block most people in China from seeing other social media abroad and most global news outlets.

Comments on Chinese social media on Sunday criticized the Women’s Tennis Association and others who spoke up about Peng. Comments in Chinese on Twitter poked fun at the awkward release of photos and video of Peng by employees of state media this weekend while the government stayed silent.

“When will the WTA get out of China?” said a comment on the Sina Weibo social media service, signed “Sleep Time.”