Naomi Osaka says she's in 'shock' over the apparent disappearance of a Chinese tennis star who accused a top official of sexual assault

• Naomi Osaka has voiced concerns over the whereabouts of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.
• Peng hasn't been heard from since accusing China's former vice-premier of sexual assault.

Tennis phenom Naomi Osaka has joined a growing list of athletes voicing their concerns over the whereabouts of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.

Peng, one of China's biggest sporting stars, has not been heard from since she made sexual assault allegations against a top Chinese official.

In a Weibo post on November 2, the 35-year-old alleged the former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli coerced her into sex and that they had an affair.

The post was taken down, while numerous references to Peng were also scrubbed from China's internet, reports The Guardian.

"I was recently informed of a fellow tennis player that has gone missing shortly after revealing that she has been sexually abused," Osaka tweeted, using the hashtag #WhereisPengShuai.

"Censorship is never ok at any cost, I hope Peng Shuai and her family are safe and ok. I'm in shock of the current situation and I'm sending love and light her way."

Osaka's comments on Peng's whereabouts follow similar messages from men's world number one Novak Djokovic and Frenchman Nicholas Mahut.

"It's shocking that she's missing, more so that it's someone that I have seen on the tour in the previous years quite a few times," Djokovic told reporters on Tuesday.

"It's not much more to say than hope that she will be found, that she's ok. It's just terrible. I can imagine just how her family feels that she's missing."

Mahut tweeted, also using the hashtag #WhereisPengShuai: "The fact that Peng Shuai is missing is not only the WTA's problem. We are all concerned."

The chairman of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), Steve Simon, told The New York Times that the tour has not spoken to Peng directly but has received assurances that she is "safe and and not under any physical threat."

In a separate statement on the WTA's website, Simon also called for a "full, fair, and transparent" investigation into Peng's sexual assault allegations against Zhang Gaoli.

"Peng Shuai, and all women, deserve to be heard, not censored," he said.