Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai had a video call on Sunday with the president of the International Olympic Committee and told him she was safe and well, the IOC said in a statement.
Photos and videos of Peng at a tournament in Beijing earlier on Sunday had earlier done little to dampen international concerns, following a nearly three-week public absence after she alleged that a former senior Chinese official sexually assaulted her.
France's foreign minister had called on Chinese authorities to provide more reassurance, echoing a statement by the Women's Tennis Association that the images were "insufficient" proof.
"I'm expecting only one thing: that she speaks," France's Jean-Yves Le Drian told LCI television, adding that there could be unspecified diplomatic consequences if China did not clear up the situation. The United States and Britain had also called for China to provide proof of Peng's whereabouts.
Current and former tennis players, from Naomi Osaka to Billie Jean King, had joined the calls seeking to confirm she was safe, using the social media hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai?
The concern over Peng came as global rights groups and others have called for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February over China's human rights record.
{{/usCountry}}The concern over Peng came as global rights groups and others have called for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February over China's human rights record.
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