Peng Shuai tells paper she never wrote of being assaulted

BEIJING – Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied saying she was sexually assaulted, despite a November social media post attributed to her that accused a former top Communist Party official of forcing her into sex.

Lianhe Zaobao, a Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper, posted video of Peng it says was taken Sunday in Shanghai in which she said she has been mainly staying at home in Beijing but was free to come and go as she chose.

“First of all, I want to emphasize something that is very important. I have never said that I wrote that anyone sexually assaulted me. I need to emphasize this point very clearly,” Peng told the newspaper’s reporter.

The reporter did not ask how or why the lengthy and highly detailed Nov. 2 post appeared or whether Peng’s account had been hacked.

The newspaper said it interviewed Peng at a promotional event for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games which begin Feb. 4. She was filmed on the observation deck of a facility where she watched a freestyle ski competition.