Rising tennis star, Coco Gauff, 17, has tested positive COVID-19, which will disqualify her from this year’s 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“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 tweeted on Sunday. “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.”
🙏🏾❤️🤍💙 pic.twitter.com/lT0LoEV3eO
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) July 18, 2021
“We were saddened to learn that Coco Gauff has tested positive for COVID-19 and will therefore be unable to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,” the U.S. Tennis Association said in a statement per ESPN. “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.”
Gauff is not the only athlete that has tested positive for COVID-19. According to NPR, two players, Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi, have tested positive for COVID-19 at the site of the Olympic Village in the Japanese capital. All of those in contact with the two athletes, including a video analyst who also tested positive, have been isolated. It has not been confirmed if whether Monyane and Mahlatsi will still be competing in the games as, “the team has been quarantined until cleared to train, waiting for results from tests earlier on Sunday,” reported Reuters.
