Andy Murray has joined an online campaign to help find missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.

The two-time Wimbledon champion tweeted that her “whereabouts (are) currently unknown after making sexual abuse allegations against (a) Chinese government official”.

Murray also linked to a video of Czech player Barbora Krejcikova speaking about her country’s liberation from communism during the Velvet Revolution of 1989.

Martina Navratilova, standing behind Krejcikova, is in tears.

Murray said of the footage: “This speech gives us a reminder and some hope that things can change in the future. #WhereIsPengShuai.”

Female tennis player Peng Shuai whereabouts currently unknown after making Sexual abuse allegations against Chinese government official.
This speech gives us a reminder and some hope that things can change in the future 🙏 #WhereIsPengShuai https://t.co/eKnLCHcPLj

Peng, 35, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, wrote a social media post this month accusing a former top government official of forcing her to have sex after playing tennis at his home.

Stars including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic are among those concerned over her whereabouts.

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Her original post on Weibo has been taken down.

An email said to be from Peng was released on Wednesday by CGTN, the international arm of government-controlled state broadcaster CCTV, but many have raised doubts over its authenticity.

It says the sexual assault claim “is not true” and adds: “I’m not missing, nor am I unsafe. I’ve just been resting at home and everything is fine”.

. #WhereIsPengShuai pic.twitter.com/51qcyDtzLq

Steve Simon, the head of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said it “only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts”.

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

“Peng Shuai displayed incredible courage in describing an allegation of sexual assault against a former top official in the Chinese government.

“The WTA and the rest of the world need independent and verifiable proof that she is safe. I have repeatedly tried to reach her via numerous forms of communication, to no avail.”

Mr Simon said Peng’s sexual assault claim must be investigated with “full transparency” and she should be allowed to speak “without coercion or intimidation”.

Speaking to NBC News, he also raised the prospect of rethinking WTA events in China if things aren’t resolved satisfactorily.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International said Chinese authorities must prove Peng is safe and fully investigate the sexual assault allegations.

The country has a “track record of forcing statements out of individuals under duress, or else simply fabricating them”, said its China researcher Doriane Lau.

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