Peng Shuai appearance fails to address concerns for tennis star?s wellbeing, says WTA

The Women's Tennis Association said an appearance on Sunday by Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai did not address its concerns about her wellbeing.

Peng said on Sunday that she had never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her, and that a social media post she had made early last month had been misunderstood.

"We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern," the WTA said in a statement.

Peng's well-being became a matter of concern among the global tennis community and rights groups when she appeared to allege that a former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past. After that post, she was absent from public view for nearly three weeks.

"First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important, I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me, I have to clearly stress this point," Peng said in the video posted by Lianhe Zaobao, a Singapore media outlet.

Peng's remarks on Sunday marked the first time she had addressed the matter on camera in public. She spoke on the sidelines of a cross-country skiing event in Shanghai that she attended.

She said that her post on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media site, which had been quickly removed, was a "private matter".