In a heartfelt Facebook post last night, the 31-year-old player expressed her distress and called for privacy for her family as they cope with the emotional aftermath of the incident.

Pei Jing, the world No 23 duo with Tan Kian Meng, said she lost almost all of her savings to a fraud group, describing the experience as a “heavy blow” after decades of hard work.

“First of all, to my relatives and friends who see this post, whether you are curious or concerned, please give my family and me some space to deal with our emotions.

“Please give us time to process everything, especially my mum. Thank you.

“Yes, I was scammed out of almost all my savings by a fraud group. Honestly, this has been an extremely heavy blow to me.

“My hard-earned savings from decades of hard work … I reflect on it almost every second. Whenever my mind is idle, I naturally replay the incident and start blaming myself for my foolishness,” she said.

Despite the emotional toll, the 2022 Korean Open mixed doubles champion is determined to move forward as she has been managing her emotions and working with the police.

“I’ll share more about it. I hope to prevent more people falling victim (to such scams).

“At this moment, I must grit my teeth and get through this because life still has to go on. The world doesn’t stop spinning just because of me.

“It looks like being strong is my only option,” she said.

“I need some time to settle and process everything. Afterwards, I’ll consider how to share the details of the scam with everyone.

“I hope my experience (of being scammed) can help others be more vigilant and prevent more people from being deceived.”

At the Singapore Open, which concluded yesterday, Pei Jing-Kian Meng were eliminated as early as the second round. They are scheduled to participate in the Indonesia Open in Jakarta from June 4 to 9.