Peng Shuai’s video denial of sexual assault claim fails to quell fears of tennis chiefs

The women’s tennis tour still cannot verify the welfare of former Wimbledon doubles champion Peng Shuai, despite her appearing in another video.

The Chinese player, 35, surfaced again on Tuesday in a clip posted by Singapore media outlet Lianhe Zaobao, filmed while she was attending a skiing event near Shanghai.

In the video, Peng looks continually into the camera and denies making allegations of sexual assault against a former Chinese Vice-Premier, Zhang Gaoli.

‘I need to stress one point that is extremely important, I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me,’ she says, insisting the social media post which started the episode had been misunderstood.

However, representatives from the WTA Tour — who suspended all tournaments in China a fortnight ago as a result — have still been unable to directly reach her.

A WTA spokesperson said: ‘As we have consistently stated, these appearances do not alleviate or address the WTA’s significant concerns about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion.

‘We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.’

Meanwhile, Andy Murray and Dan Evans will be hoping their plans for the Australian Open are not disrupted after Rafael Nadal revealed yesterday that he had contracted Covid-19. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he had tested positive on his return to Spain after playing in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition event held in Abu Dhabi, on Friday and Saturday.

Nadal was beaten by Murray on Friday and is believed to have shared a changing room with the two British players, who were featuring in the same event.

The Spaniard, who has been a strong advocate of taking the vaccine, said: ‘I am having some unpleasant moments but I hope I will improve little by little. I am now confined at home. As a consequence of the situation, I have to have total flexibility with my calendar and I will analyse my options.’

Nadal had already cast doubt on whether he would play in Australia, due to him having only just come back from a lengthy foot injury.

With players due to fly Down Under a few days after Christmas, the British contingent are already taking precautions. The National Tennis Centre in Roehampton has brought in a rule which stipulates that the only people allowed in to practise there before lunchtime are those who are planning to play in Melbourne next month.

Earlier this year, Murray was furious that his plans to play in the season’s first Grand Slam were scuppered by him catching Covid, which he believed had to be down to his visits to the NTC.

Emma Raducanu posed outside her hotel room with the Sports Personality of the Year trophy yesterday as her post-Covid isolation comes to an end. She is set to resume practice in the Middle East before flying on to Australia, where her first tournament is due to start on January 3.