Tennis Star Says China's Former Vice Premier Forced Her Into Sex

Former world No.1 tennis doubles player Peng Shuai said in a post from her Weibo account that Zhang Gaoli, who became a member of Politburo Standing Committee, coerced her into sex.

Former world No.1 tennis doubles player Peng Shuai, one of China's biggest sporting stars, has publicly accused a former Chinese vice premier of forcing her into sex several years ago in a social media post that was later deleted.

According to a screenshot of her verified Weibo account late on Tuesday, Peng said that Zhang Gaoli, who became a member of the Politburo Standing Committee - China's top decision-making body - coerced her into sex and they later had an on-off consensual relationship.

The post was deleted around half an hour after it was published, although searches for Peng's name on China's tightly controlled internet surged after the posting, and screenshots were shared among private WeChat groups and over iMessage.

China's internet is heavily censored and the private lives of top leaders are an especially sensitive subject.