Coco Gauff Out of the Tokyo Olympics Due to Positive COVID-19 Test

On Sunday, U.S. Olympian Coco Gauff announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19. The 17-year-old tennis player will no longer be eligible to compete in the Tokyo Olympics which begin this week on July 23rd.

She made the announcement through her Instagram and Twitter and said, “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.”

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— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) July 18, 2021

The Tokyo Olympics would have been Coco’s first time at the Olympics.

She wished her team good luck and “safe games for every Olympian and the entire Olympic family.”

Organizers in Japan have also confirmed that two athletes from South Africa have also tested positive for COVID-19 at the Olympian Village.

After Coco posted her announcement to Instagram and Twitter, the USTA confirmed she was no longer competing by tweeting that they were saddened to hear that Coco would not be able to be part of the Olympics.

They said that, “The entire USA Tennis Olympic contingent is heartbroken for Coco,” and that they, ” hope to see her back on the courts very soon.”

USTA Statement: 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 entire USA Tennis Olympic contingent is heartbroken for Coco. (1/2)

— USTA (@usta) July 18, 2021