Andy Murray weighs in on Peng Shuai situation as worries deepen over star’s safety

Andy Murray shows off his room in Tokyo Olympic village

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Andy Murray has had his say on the worrying developments around the safety of fellow tennis star Peng Shuai, who has not been seen since the beginning of November after making a sexual assault allegation against a retired Chinese politician. 

Peng made the allegation against China’s former vice premier Zhang Gaoli on Chinese social media site Weibo on November 2, but the post was quickly removed.

Subsequent posts and reactions – including keywords such as “tennis” – were blocked, while numerous references to Peng were also removed from the Chinese internet.

An email purportedly written by the 2013 Wimbledon women’s doubles champion was then issued by Chinese state media earlier this week, in which it is claimed she is safe.

Many have questioned the authenticity of the email, including the chairman of the WTA, Steve Simon, who found the supposed message from the tennis star ‘hard to believe’.

In a statement, Simon said: “I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her.”

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As the concerns over her welfare continue to grow, some of the biggest names in the sport have expressed their worry including two-time Wimbledon champion Murray.

The former world No 1 weighed in with his opinion after quote-tweeting a speech from Czech tennis star Barbora Krejcikova, who offered an inspiring message regarding the freedom her nation now has after breaking away from non-democratic rule in the 1990s.

As a result, Murray used the inspirational speech as a springboard to tweet about Peng’s plight.

He tweeted: “Female tennis player Peng Shuai whereabouts currently unknown after making Sexual abuse allegations against Chinese government official.

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“This speech gives us a reminder and some hope that things can change in the future #WhereIsPengShuai”

The Scot is not the only well-recognised star from the sport to speak out on the ongoing issue, as 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams has also called for action to be taken.

Like Murray, Williams also took to Twitter to voice her concern, pledging support to the #WhereIsPengShuai campaign that has rocketed across the social media site in recent days.

Via a post on Twitter, the most recognised name in women’s tennis revealed that she was ‘devastated and shocked’ by the news regarding her fellow WTA star.

Accompanied with a #WhereIsPengShuai image, she tweeted: “I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news ofmy peer, Peng Shuai.

“I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent. Sending love to her and her family during this incredibly difficult time. #whereispengshuai”

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