Chinese tennis star Peng claims sexual assault by Communist Party's former Politburo member

Accusations made by Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai that she was sexual assaulted by a former top government official have prompted considerable discussion online, despite efforts by authorities to squelch any mention of the matter.

In a now-deleted post on social media site Weibo (Microblog), Peng wrote that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice-premier and member of the ruling Communist Party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, had assaulted her following a round of tennis in Beijing three years ago.

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The AP could not verify the authenticity of the post, which was made late Tuesday night by her account on Weibo, a leading Chinese social media platform.

The post was removed soon after, and a search on Weibo for Peng's account now turns up no results.

In her lengthy post, Peng, 35, suggested she and the now-75-year-old Zhang had been intimate several years before. However, Peng admitted in her 1,500 words post that she had no proof.

Zhang retired in 2018 and has largely disappeared from public life, as is usual with former Chinese officials. Neither he nor Peng could be immediately contacted.

In response to a question at the regular briefing on Wednesday, Wang Wenbin, spokesman of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said " I haven't heard of it and this isn't a question about diplomacy."

Peng is a former No. 1-ranked and major-winning doubles player, taking 23 tour-level doubles titles, including Grand Slams at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014.

In singles, she reached the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Open and the Round of 16 at the subsequent Australian Open, but hasn't progressed beyond the third round at any major since Wimbledon in 2017.

Peng hasn't played at the top tier since the Qatar Open in February 2020.