Jul 18, 2021 - Sports

Coco Gauff test positive for COVID-19, drops out of Olympics

Ivana Saric

Coco Gauff at Wimbeldon this July. Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Team USA tennis player Coco Gauff announced Sunday afternoon that she has tested positive for COVID-19 and will no long be attending the Olympics in Tokyo.

Why it matters: Gauff is currently ranked the No. 25 player in the world. Her diagnosis comes just days ahead of the opening of the games, which are being plagued by positive COVID-19 cases.

Athletes at the Olympic village in Tokyo have already started testing positive, before the games have even begun.
Health experts fear the Olympics could become a superspreader event.

The big picture: Gauff said that competing in the Olympics had always been a dream of hers and that she was "so disappointed" to not be going to Tokyo.

"I hope there will be many more chances for me to make this come true in the future," she wrote.

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Coco Gauff test positive for COVID-19, drops out of Olympics

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