WTA Seeks Probe Into China Player Peng Shuai’s Affair Claims
- China player detailed relationship with ex-leader Zhang Gaoli
- Authorities silent over biggest political scandal in years
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The Women’s Tennis Association is seeking a probe into Chinese player Peng Shuai’s allegations of a rocky affair with a former state leader, after more than a week of official silence over one of Beijing’s biggest political scandals in years.
WTA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Simon said in a statement Sunday that the Peng’s account of her treatment by former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli amounted to sexual assault and “must be treated with the utmost seriousness.” Peng, 35, detailed her decade-long affair with the now-retired Zhang, 75, in a 1,500-character essay on the Twitter-like Weibo, a post that has since been deleted.