Naomi Osaka expresses ‘shock’ over missing Chinese tennis star Peng ShuaiWorld

World No 1 tennis star Naomi Osaka
has joined the growing calls
for answers on the whereabouts of Chinese player
Peng Shuai, who has not been
heard from publicly since she
accused the country’s former
vice premier of sexually assaulting her.Peng, one o
China’s biggest sporting stars,
made the claims in a Weibo
post on 2 November, in which
she alleged Zhang Gaoli coerced her into sex and that
they had an intermittent
affair.The Women’s Tennis Association has call for an investigation and its chief executive,
Steve Simon, has said that
while they have received “assurances” Peng is safe, they
have not been able to reach
her.Osaka, who is ranked the
best player in the women’s
game, issued a statement on
Wednesday expressing
shock at how Peng had “gonemissing shortly after revealing she has been sexually
abused”.”Censorship is
never OK at any cost, I hope
Peng Shuai and her family are
safe and OK. I’m in shock of
the current situation and I’m
sending love and light her
way. #whereispengshuai,”
said the Japanese player.
Osaka’s statement followed a
rush of calls by tennis stars
earlier this week expressing
their concern over Peng’s
silence.The Chinese government has not responded to
the allegations. A spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs, which deals with
international media, told reporters he was not aware of
the situation.”I have not
heard of the issue you
raised,” the spokesman,
Zhao Lijian said. “This is nota diplomatic question.