The International Olympic Committee held a second video call with the former world number one in doubles Peng Shuai The IOC said in a statement on Thursday amid concerns about the health of the Chinese tennis player.
The IOC said it held the call just before the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announcement Immediate suspension of all tournaments in China due to concern about the player’s health.
IOC and President Thomas Bach first talked to Peng on November 21.
The IOC said: “We share the same concern as many other people and organizations about Peng Shuai’s health and safety. This is why just yesterday an IOC team held a video call. different from her”.
“We have asked for her broad support, will stay in regular contact with her, and have agreed to a personal meeting in January,” it said, adding that Peng appeared to “safe and well under the difficult circumstances she is in.”
Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February.
The whereabouts of Peng, a three-time Olympic medalist, has become an issue of international concern after a nearly three-week absence from the public after she posted a message on social media in early November alleging that former Vice Premier of China Zhang Gaoli sexually assaulted her.
Neither Zhang, who retired in 2018, nor the Chinese government have commented on Peng’s allegations, and the topic has been blocked from live discussion on China’s heavily censored internet.
The decision to pull out of one of the WTA’s largest markets, welcomed by the US-based WTA, was welcomed by many top figures in the tennis world, although it could hurt broadcast revenue and funding up to hundreds of millions of dollars.
