Peng Shuai: China says tennis star case maliciously hyped up

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The foreign ministry highlighted a call.

The issue surrounding tennis star Peng Shuai has been "maliciously hype up", according to China.

After making sexual assault allegations against China's former vice premier, Ms. Peng disappeared from the public eye for almost three weeks.

Questions remain over her wellbeing after she re-appeared.

China's foreign ministry said it was not a diplomatic matter.

She recently attended some public events and had a video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee.

He said that some people should stop hyping the issue and stop politicising it.

One of the top tennis players in China is Ms. Peng. In a 1,600 word post on Chinese social media platform Weibo earlier this month, she said that she had sexual relations with a former Vice Prime Minister.

She wrote that she would tell the truth about you even if it was just hitting a stone with a pebble.

It was the first time that an allegation had been made against a senior Chinese leader. The allegations have not been responded to by Mr. Zhang.

The tennis player was not heard or seen for several weeks after she shared her post on Weibo. Her safety became a matter of international concern, with prominent players including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka joining calls from governments and tennis officials demanding to know she was safe.

Chinese state media released a series of photographs and videos that appeared to show that all was well.

A statement from the group said that she had appeared safe and well after a video call with the head of the IOC. A state media journalist posted a video of her smiling and standing with officials at a tennis tournament, which he said was from Sunday.

Concerns over her safety and wellbeing are still present.

The recent videos don't address the concern about her wellbeing and ability to communicate without being coerced, according to the Women's Tennis Association.

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The chairman was worried about Ms Peng's safety.

A group of Chinese feminists in New York staged a rally on Sunday in support of Ms Peng.

Crystal Chen told the BBC that the videos and photos show that Ms Peng was physically unharmed, but she was not truly free.