Tennis player Coco Gauff shared the news that she tested positive for COVID-19 and that she would withdraw from the Tokyo Olympic Games just days before it is set to begin.
Gauff was expected to headline the US tennis team as its highest-ranked player, USA Today reported.
“I am so disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for COVID and won’t be able to play in the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” Gauff said in her Twitter post. “I want to wish Team USA the best of luck and safe games for every Olympian and the entire Olympic family.”
Gauff, who is only 17, was prepared to compete in her first Olympic Games as the USA Olympic’s tennis team’s youngest player since Mario Ancic in 2000. Ancic was 16 at the time he competed in the Sydney Games.
“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 continued on Twitter.
Gauff was considered a strong member of the team after other big names in the sport stepped down due to injury or COVID-19 concerns. Among those were tennis star Serena Williams who suffered an injury during Wimbledon.
Sofia Kenin, the highest-ranked American female tennis player at No. 4, also pulled out of the Games due to COVID-19.
Gauff’s positive test is one of many as the Games are a few days from opening. Thousands of athletes, staff, and media members arrive in Tokyo this week, but organizers have already revealed three residents inside the Olympic Village have tested positive.
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