Serena Williams has said she is "devastated and shocked" by the case of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, whose whereabouts have become a mystery sparking international concern.
Doubles grand slam winner Peng is said to have been missing since making sexual assault allegations against a former top Chinese government official.
She posted on Chinese social media site Weibo allegations against Zhang Gaoli – the ex-vice premier and member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee – claiming he had forced her to have sexual relations with him.
The head of the women's tour, WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon, has questioned the veracity of an email purportedly written by the two-time major doubles champion saying that she is safe.
Now 23-time grand slam singles winner Williams has added her powerful voice, stating: "I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai. I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent."
WTA boss Simon said he had "a hard time believing" the email in Peng's name had come from the 35-year-old player herself. The message stated the allegations of sexual assault were not true and that Peng was "resting at home".
Former world number one Williams said she was "sending love to her and her family during this incredibly difficult time", adding the hashtag "#whereispengshuai" to her Twitter message.
Williams and Peng have faced each other four times in their careers, with the American winning each of their singles matches, the most recent in 2014, while Peng and Sun Tiantian beat Williams and sister Venus Williams in doubles in Bangalore in 2008.
There has been concern throughout sport and beyond for the wellbeing of Peng, a French Open and Wimbledon doubles winner.
On Wednesday, Simon said it was important that there was "independent and verifiable proof that she is safe", saying the statement issued in her name "only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts".
He said he had made efforts to contact Peng "via numerous forms of communication, to no avail", saying she must be allowed to speak "freely, without coercion or intimidation from any source".
Peng's social media post containing her allegations, along with all of her other content, has been removed from Weibo.
Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka also spoke up this week, with the Japanese star stating: "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."
Tearful Miyu Kato makes a winning return to action after ball girl controversy
A tearful Miyu Kato returned to Court 14 at the French Open a day after her controversial disqualification.
The Japanese player and her women’s doubles partner Aldila Sutjiadi were defaulted during their third-round clash with Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl with a ball.
The 28-year-old was allowed to continue in mixed doubles with German partner Tim Puetz and, back on the same court, the pair defeated Brazilians Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos to reach the semi-finals.
There has been a lot of support for Kato since the incident from within the locker room and, as the crowd gave her and Puetz a prolonged round of applause, the Japanese player began to cry before being consoled by her partner.
Kato, who apologised on Twitter on Sunday evening, was in tears again in the press room and had to briefly leave her press conference before answering questions only in Japanese.
It is believed she has appealed against the disqualification in the hope of keeping her prize money and ranking points, which would normally be forfeited in such situations.
Puetz said: “I think, first and foremost, we’re all, including Miyu, happy that the ball girl is OK, because obviously she got hit. It’s a little girl on Court 14. For them they’re very excited to be there. I think you saw she was distraught.
“Besides that, I’m sure Miyu feels terrible about what happened. This was just very unfortunate for everyone, especially for her and the girl.”
Kato was returning a ball to the other end of the court after a point had finished but the ball girl reacted too late and it struck her on the neck.
The umpire initially gave a warning but, with Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo pointing out the distress of the ball girl, the supervisor and referee were called and, after lengthy discussions, opted to default Kato and Sutjiadi.
The decision has drawn widespread criticism from within tennis, but Puetz had sympathy for the officials, saying: “All they see is a crying ball girl who got hit with a ball. In that moment, to make that decision is very difficult.
“While I don’t necessarily agree with it, I think I can understand how you would get to that decision. It’s much easier now looking at the pictures and then comparing to some other instances in the past years. Yeah, I think it’s very easy to say, ‘No, she should not have been defaulted’.”
Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo have faced heavy criticism on social media for appearing to try to force the default, but the Spaniard insisted they did nothing wrong.
“It’s a very bad situation that happened yesterday,” said Sorribes Tormo. “Also, for Marie and for me, it’s tough to have all this kind of things that people are saying.
“It’s not easy because the only thing we’ve done yesterday was going to the referee and explain to him what happened.
“So, first of all, we were saying that the ball kid was crying because we were scared, because we were, ‘Oh, something happened’. Then we were saying that the ball was direct because he didn’t see the ball.
“All the rest, the decision was taken by the supervisor, and I think it’s not our thing or we haven’t done anything bad.”
Puetz now hopes Kato can write a happier ending to her fortnight at Roland Garros.
The German said: “I was happy yesterday when we got the call that we will be allowed to play mixed. Not because I care too much about the mixed, it’s just because hopefully she can kind of move on.
“I’m happy that we can still play a couple of matches here and just hopefully add some good memories to kind of get over it as well instead of just leaving Paris with that really crappy feeling with what happened yesterday.”
Coco Gauff hopes for an improved showing against Iga Swiatek at French Open
Coco Gauff is gunning for revenge against Iga Swiatek when they clash in the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Gauff reached her first grand slam singles final here last year and was handed a heavy beating by Swiatek, who claimed her second Roland Garros title.
Their rivalry is a one-sided 6-0 to the Pole, with Gauff yet to win a set, but the teenager said: “Honestly, since last year I have been wanting to play her, especially at this tournament.
“I figured that it was going to happen because I figured I was going to do well and she was going to do well. Didn’t know what side of the draw we were going to be on, obviously.
“But I’m the type of mentality, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I think also, if you want to improve, you have to play the best.
“I feel like, the way my career has gone so far, if I see a level, and if I’m not quite there at that level, I know I have to improve. I think it would be almost cowardly to say that I want to not face the noise and not face the challenge, but I think that I’m up for it.
“I have improved a lot since last year, and she has too. I think it would be a great battle for us and for the fans, too.”
Gauff is again showing excellent form in Paris and she reached the quarter-finals for the third successive year with a 7-5 6-2 victory over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Swiatek, meanwhile, has lost only nine games in her four matches, although she was given a helping hand when Ukrainian opponent Lesia Tsurenko retired through illness trailing 5-1 in the opening set.
Swiatek again raced out of the blocks, moving into a 4-0 lead before her run of 23 straight games across three matches came to an end.
Tsurenko called the doctor and trainer after getting on the board but played only one more game before calling it a day.
Seventh seed Ons Jabeur eased into the last eight with a 6-3 6-1 victory over American Bernarda Pera.
The Tunisian, who reached the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open last year, has struggled with injury in 2023 but is through to the quarter-finals here for the first time.
“It was the only grand slam missing,” said Jabeur. “I’m very happy with the performance, with the way I was, playing, especially coming back after an injury.
“I was just taking it one match at a time, trying to make it to the second week. Now I’m going to push more for the next few matches.”
In the last eight she will meet Beatriz Haddad Maia, who needed a mammoth three hours and 51 minutes to get past Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-7 (3) 6-3 7-5.
It was the longest women’s match of the year and the longest at Roland Garros since 1995, with Haddad Maia becoming the first Brazilian to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals since Maria Bueno 55 years ago.
“All the matches that I play I prepare myself for the toughest moments,” said the 14th seed. “So I know that Sara will bring the balls. She defends very well. I knew that the ball was coming again.
“I had to be aggressive. So I was prepared for that. I was trying to be as aggressive as I could to finish the point, to go to the net. I work very hard on my body, as well, so I believe in myself when we have tough moments.”
Holger Rune beats Francisco Cerundolo to set up Casper Ruud French Open rematch
Holger Rune survived a fifth-set tie-break against Francisco Cerundolo to set up a French Open quarter-final rematch with Casper Ruud.
Their encounter at the same stage last year descended into acrimony when Rune accused Ruud of celebrating in his face in the locker room and showing a lack of class, which was fiercely denied by the Norwegian.
For a while it looked like they might not meet again, with Argentinian Cerundolo battling back from two sets to one down to force a decider and then holding three break points at 4-3.
Dane Rune saved all of them, broke serve himself then failed to serve it out but put the disappointment behind him to clinch a 7-6 (3) 3-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7) victory after just short of four hours.
Rune felt it was just deserts after his loss at the same stage of the Australian Open to Andrey Rublev, saying: “I had a heart-breaking loss in Australia where I could serve for it and I lost it in a match tie-break like this.
“I told myself when we started the tie-break just to relax and enjoy it. Moments like this stay with you whether you win or you lose. I enjoyed every moment.”
There was another moment of umpiring controversy in the third set when, like in the clash between Cameron Norrie and Lucas Pouille on the same court, the umpire failed to spot a double bounce.
This time Cerundolo was the victim and, to compound matters, umpire Kader Nouni awarded Rune the point after his opponent gestured that it should have been stopped.
Ruud edged three tight sets against Chilean Nicolas Jarry, coming through 7-6 (3) 7-5 7-5 to keep alive his hopes of making back-to-back finals.
The Norwegian is slowly coming back into form after a disappointing start to the year, and he said: “This year I felt a little more pressure, obviously, because I needed to try to defend my final spot.
“That’s been on my mind. And I haven’t done as well in other tournaments, so I know every match that I can win and points on the rankings that I can try to gain can be important for the rest of the year.
“So I don’t feel like I have played my best tennis yet but, at the same time, I’m playing many opponents who play very aggressively and they play fast and give me no rhythm.
“I think my next match is going to be a little more playable from the baseline and I think the game will be a little bit different from this match. I’m going to try to prepare for that and hopefully bring my A game.”
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