Man claiming to be Peng Shuai's friend makes BIG claim; says WTA ignored athlete's email

In a new development to the case of Peng Shuai, the missing Chinese tennis player, a man claiming to be an associate of the 35-year-old has accused Women's Tennis Association (WTA) chief Steve Simon of allegedly disregarding an email from the athlete.

A man named Ding Li provided a screenshot of an email Shuai allegedly sent to WTA head Steve Simon, requesting that her personal matter not be hyped, the BBC reported.

Shuai requested she not be 'disturbed': Ding Li

Simon has been accused by Ding of ignoring Shuai's communication, in which he claims that Shuai requested that she not be "disturbed." Despite Shuai's request that Simon not escalate the situation, Ding claims that Simon continued to demand confirmation of her safety and shared her personal phone number with a number of tennis players, who besieged her with calls and messages of concern.

It should be mentioned here that WTA was one of the first organisations to raise its voice against Shuai's sudden disappearance. After it was reported that Shuai has gone missing in China, the WTA chief urged  Chinese authorities to provide proof of her safety. After several Chinese state-sponsored journalists shared photos and videos of Shuai in an attempt to show that she is safe in China, WTA chief Steve Simon issued a statement saying that while he is happy to see the athlete, he remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own. 

Peng Shuai's 1,600-word post against former Chinese vice premier

Shuai, who is one of China's top tennis players, went incommunicado earlier this month after accusing former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli, of sexual assault. Shuai had shared a 1,600-word post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, where she accused the former politician of forcing her into having sex with him in what she described as a "brutal sexual assault". The incident had allegedly occurred three years ago. Shuai's post was taken down by Weibo immediately after it went live on the platform. After Shuai made the allegations, it was reported that she has gone missing. 

In an attempt to quell the speculations, Chinese state media journalists have been posting photos and videos on Twitter, trying to prove that the athlete is safe and free in the country. A journalist shared photos of a seemingly happy Shuai, claiming that it was sent by the tennis player on another Chinese social media platform WeChat. 

(Image: AP)