The WTA is unmoved by recent media around Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, saying their concerns about her wellbeing and ability to communicate are still present.
Shuai, whose whereabouts have been a matter of international concern for weeks, attended a tennis tournament in Beijing on Sunday, according to official photos published by the tournament organised by China Open.
Peng could be seen among guests at the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger Finals, dressed in a dark blue jacket and white trousers, according to the pictures published on the event's official WeChat page.
The former doubles world No.1 had not been seen or heard from publicly since she said on Chinese social media on November 2 that former vice premier Zhang Gaoli had coerced her into sex and they later had an on-off consensual relationship.
Neither Zhang nor the Chinese government have commented on her allegation. Peng's social media post was quickly deleted and the topic has been blocked from discussion on China's heavily censored internet.
World tennis bodies expressed concern, with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) threatening to pull tournaments out of China before the videos were released.
Peng also had a 30-minute call with IOC president Thomas Bach, athletes commission chair Emma Terho and IOC member Li Lingwei, a former vice president of the Chinese Tennis Association on Monday.
Peng “thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being”, the Switzerland-based Olympic body said in a statement.
“She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time. That is why she prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now,” the statement said.
The call came amid growing global alarm over Peng after she accused a former leading Communist Party official of sexual assault. China's ruling Communist Party has tried to quell fears abroad while suppressing information in China about Peng.
As such, the footage and IOC call that have emerged remain "insufficient" and do not address the WTA's concerns, a spokesperson for the group told 1News.
"It was good to see Peng Shuai in recent videos, but they don’t alleviate or address the WTA’s concern about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion," the spokesperson said.
"This video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern."
The issue of Peng's safety and whereabouts has emerged as China prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February amid calls from global rights groups and others for a boycott over its human rights record.
Searches on Chinese platforms for social media posts on Peng's allegations continued to yield no results on Monday.
On some video-sharing websites like Bilibili, Peng's name was also not found in searches.
Some old videos featuring Peng could still be found, but access to their comments sections was locked.
-Additional reporting by AAP.
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