Chinese tennis star says she is safe in video call with Olympic official -IOC

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.

Chinese tennis star Peng Shaui 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 https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1460723353174433793 to Serena Williams https://twitter.com/serenawilliams/status/1461408866697105413 to Billie Jean King https://twitter.com/BillieJeanKing/status/1459985672715046913, 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.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)