Naomi Osaka ‘shocked’ that Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has gone missing

"I'm in shock of the current situation and I'm sending love and light her way."

World tennis champion Naomi Osaka is the latest athlete to voice concerns over the whereabouts of Peng Shuai. The Chinese tennis star has not been seen since posting allegations of sexual assault against a former senior Chinese official. Peng - a former world number one doubles player - posted on Chinese social media site Weibo saying that she was "forced" into a sexual relationship with Zhang Gaoli.

Her allegations, which were soon deleted from China's internet, were made earlier this month and marked the first time that such a claim has been made against one of China's senior political leaders.

Zhang, 75, served as China's vice-premier between 2013 and 2018 and was a close ally of President Xi Jinping, and has not responded to her claims.

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Despite her allegations, Peng stated she would not be able to provide evidence to support her claims.

There have been concerns among the global tennis community as Peng has not been seen since posting the allegation. Although the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) said it had confirmed that she was "safe and not under any physical threat", they were not able to directly reach her. Chief Executive of the WTA Steve Simon said the WTA had received confirmation from several sources - including the Chinese Tennis Association - that Ms Peng was safe, but did add that he had not been able to reach her directly.