(Beijing) There is nothing to whip a spade; let’s move on. This is the message delivered by Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai on Monday, during a “controlled interview” carried out on Sunday in a hotel in Beijing and during which it was discussed allegations of sexual assault that she made to a senior official of the Chinese Communist Party.

His remarks — in the presence of a Chinese Olympic representative — left unanswered questions about his well-being and what exactly happened.

The interview, granted to the French newspaper The Team, and an announcement that International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach dined with Peng over the weekend appeared to be aimed at allaying lingering international concerns about Peng, a former Olympian and ex-world number one in doubles.

Fears over Peng’s safety have threatened to cast a shadow over the ongoing Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Peng claimed to The Team that the concerns were the result of a “huge misunderstanding”. However, the interview format did not appear to provide scope for follow-up questions. Questions had been submitted in advance, and a member of the Chinese Olympic Committee attended the discussion and translated Peng’s remarks, which were spoken in Chinese.

Long segments of the interview, which lasted an hour and which was arranged through the Chinese Olympic Committee and with the help of the IOC, focused on Peng’s playing career. Aged 36 and after undergoing several knee surgeries, Peng said she doesn’t see herself making a comeback to the professional tennis scene. She has not played on the women’s circuit since February 2020.

The newspaper published Peng’s comments verbatim — another prerequisite, he said. The Team — in the form of questions and answers. Photos of Peng during the interview showed her wearing a red jacket that had “China” written in Chinese letters on the front.

The Team asked Peng about the sexual assault allegations that created controversy in November. These allegations were quickly deleted from his approved account on Weibo, one of the largest social networks in China.

For a time thereafter, she disappeared from the public sphere, to the point where the question “Where is Peng Shuai” reverberated everywhere, online and from athletes and fans outside. of China, in part because the country has a reputation for wiping out people who oppose its rulers.

“Sexual assault? I never said anyone sexually assaulted me in any way,” she said, according to the newspaper’s transcript of the quote.

“This message has given rise to a huge misunderstanding from the outside world. I hope that we no longer distort the meaning of this message”, can we also read in the text of The Team.

Asked why the message disappeared from Peng’s account, she replied, “I deleted it.”

Why ? asked the newspaper. “Because I wanted to,” she added.

The Team however, did not ask why this message was posted, originally.

On Monday, the IOC tried to defuse the controversy. The organization said Bach had lunch with Peng on Saturday, the day after Chinese President Xi Jimping opened the Beijing Winter Games. The IOC also said that Peng attended the curling match between China and Norway with IOC member Kristy Coventry.

At his daily press conference, IOC spokesman Mark Adams would not comment on whether his organization feels Peng is speaking freely or under duress.

During the interview with The Team, Peng did not respond directly to a question asking if she had been in trouble with Chinese authorities since the message.

“I would like to say first of all that feelings, sport and politics are three very distinct things. My sentimental problems, my private life, should not be mixed up with sport and politics, ”she said, according to the text of The Team.

Asked, too, about her life, since the November message, she served this brief answer: “She is as she should be: nothing special. »

Peng thanked her professional tennis colleagues who worried about her. However, she also expressed her astonishment.

“But I didn’t think there would be such concern and I would like to know: why such concern? she asked.

“I never disappeared. 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. »