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Last November, Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai took to social media and appeared to accuse a high-ranking official in the ruling Chinese Communist Party of forcing her to have sex after her repeated refusals, but she now denied ever accusing anyone of sex assault – while also announcing she's retiring.
L’Equipe, a French newspaper, was granted a rare interview with Peng at a hotel in Beijing and asked her about her Weibo post, Reuters reported.
The paper, citing the translated text of her now-deleted post, asked her to elaborate the post that seemed as though she was claiming sexual assault.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN UNDER FIRE AFTER ASKING FANS TO REMOVE SHIRTS CRITICIZING CHINA OVER PENG SHUAI
FILE - China's Peng Shuai serves to Japan's Nao Hibino during their first round singles match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill, File) (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill, File)
"Sexual assault?" she asked. "I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way."
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Peng posted that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier and member of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, had forced her to have sex despite repeated refusals. Her post also said they had sex once seven years ago and she had feelings for him after that. The original post was seen as a stunning allegation against one of the country's most powerful men.
Supporters of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai wear T-shirts as they pose for a photo during the women's final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair) (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
Reuters pointed out that the deleted posted read, "why did you take me to your house and force me into having relations with you?"
Peng briefly disappeared from public view after the post, then appeared at some promotional appearances arranged by the government. She called the entire episode an "enormous misunderstanding."
The lengthy post quickly disappeared from Peng's account. Asked why by L'Equipe, she said: "I erased it."
"Why? Because I wanted to," she added.
The International Olympic Committee reported Monday that Peng had met with its president, Thomas Bach, over the weekend, telling him "she would attend several events" at the current games. The IOC statement did not reference her earlier allegations.
Fox News' Gillian Turner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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