Ex-NBA superstar Yao Ming says he spoke with tennis star Peng Shuai last month ... the former Wimbledon doubles champ who vanished from public eye after accusing a powerful Chinese official of sexual assault.
“We had a pleasant chat,” Yao said Monday, as he fielded questions at a news conference to promote the Beijing Olympics which open in 18 days.
Ming -- the current president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) -- said he's known Peng for about 20 years ... and the two attended a winter sports exhibition with other prominent Chinese sports figures.
"We asked many questions about the game as we were not familiar with snow sports," the ex-NBA star said.
Of course, Peng's disappearance raised international concern after a post on her verified Weibo social media account claimed a powerful government official sexually assaulted her.
36-year-old Peng has since denied making the claim ... telling a Singapore newspaper, "I have never said that I wrote that anyone sexually assaulted me."
Everyone from Naomi Osaka to Novak Djokovic expressed public concern for Peng ... whose recent public appearances haven't done much to quell concerns for her safety.
Speaking of Djokovic -- who was recently deported from Australia after losing his appeal -- Yao said it's unfortunate the Serbian tennis star won't be able to compete in the Australian Open.
Ming, however, added he isn't qualified to judge Australia's pandemic policies saying, "I'm not in a position to comment if he did right or wrong.”