A Chinese tennis star vanished from the public eye after she accused the country's former vice president of sexual assault

• On Nov. 2, Peng Shuai said former Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli sexually assaulted her in 2017.
• Peng has not been seen or heard from since, and her accusation was scrubbed from Chinese social media.

A top Chinese tennis player has disappeared from public view after she accused the country's former vice premier of sexual assault earlier this month.

On November 2, Peng Shuai, wrote on the Chinese social media platform Weibo that she had a consensual relationship with Zhang Gaoli when she was younger but that he later sexually assaulted her in 2017.

"Why did you come and look for me again, take me to your house, and force me into sex? I have no proof, and it would be impossible for me to keep any evidence. You denied everything afterward," the 35-year-old wrote, according to What's On Weibo. "That afternoon I originally did not consent and cried the whole time."

Her post was deleted within an hour of its posting, The Guardian reported, and Peng, a former US Open semifinalist, has not been heard from since.

In the wake of her post, search terms for "tennis" were blocked on Weibo and information about Peng was scrubbed from China's internet, The Guardian reported. Chinese websites and social media often remove content deemed unsavory to the government.

Steve Simon, chair of the Women's Tennis Association, said in a Sunday statement that there must be a "full, fair and transparent" investigation by the Chinese government.

He later told The New York Times that the WTA had been unable to contact Peng, but that he was told she was safe.

"My understanding is that she is in Beijing in China, but I can't confirm that because I haven't spoken directly with her," he said. He told The Times that nobody associated with the WTA Tour, including players, had been able to reach her.

It is not uncommon for high-profile figures to vanish in China following a scandal or uproar.

In 2018, the Chinese actress Fan Bingbing vanished from the public eye after being accused of tax evasion, only to reemerge in October that year with a grovelling apology.

In early 2021, the Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma also vanished from the public after criticizing Chinese regulators.