Photo: Mark Brake/Getty Images
Tennis champion Cori “Coco” Gauff announced Sunday (July 18) that she would be missing the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.
“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,” the 17-year-old athlete wrote in a post online. This would have been Gauff’s first appearance at the Olympic games after making several Grand Slam appearances in recent years.
“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,” she added.
Gauff’s positive test comes as several athletes already in Tokyo have tested for the virus. Some residents of the city have protested the game as cases tick upward and the country is in its fourth state of emergency, according to BuzzFeed News.
The games are scheduled to begin on Friday (July 23).