U.S. tennis player Cori “Coco” Gauff confirmed via Twitter on Sunday that she will not be competing in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.
“It has always been a dream of mine to represent the USA at the Olympics, and I hope there will be many more chances for me to make this come true in the future,” Gauff, 17, wrote.
🙏🏾❤️🤍💙 pic.twitter.com/lT0LoEV3eO
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) July 18, 2021
Prior to her diagnosis, Gauff had been set to become the youngest Olympic tennis player since 2000, Reuters reported.
“We wish (Gauff) the best as she deals with this unfortunate situation and hope to see her back on the courts very soon. We know Coco will join all of us in rooting on the other Team USA members who will be traveling to Japan and competing in the coming days,” the U.S. Tennis Association said in a prepared statement.
We wish her the best as she deals with this unfortunate situation and hope to see her back on the courts very soon. We know Coco will join all of us in rooting on the other Team USA members who will be traveling to Japan and competing in the coming days. (2/2)
— USTA (@usta) July 18, 2021
According to ESPN, six British athletes are isolating in Tokyo after being identified as close contacts of an individual who tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, two South African soccer players already housed in the Olympic Village also tested positive for the virus.
Gauff, ranked 25th by the Women’s Tennis Association, lost to Angelique Kerber in the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier this month, the sports news network reported.
According to Reuters, Gauff’s announcement came two days after Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur tested positive for COVID-19 before his departure for the games.
The Tokyo Games, pushed back by a year by the COVID-19 pandemic, are slated to begin on Friday and run until Aug. 8.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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