© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

U.S. Tennis Star Coco Gauff Tests Positive For Coronavirus And Will Miss Olympics

Coco Gauff, shown here at Wimbledon earlier this month, will not be compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to a positive coronavirus test.
Alastair Grant
/
AP
Coco Gauff, shown here at Wimbledon earlier this month, will not be compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to a positive coronavirus test.

TOKYO — U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff will no longer lead the U.S. tennis team at the Tokyo Olympics. She has announced that she tested positive for the coronavirus, dashing her hopes of competing in the 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," the 17-year-old said in a statement on her Twitter account.

Gauff was tapped to lead the 12-member group earlier this month, in what will be the first Olympics team in a quarter century without Serena or Venus Williams. Team USA called it a "changing of the guard."

The U.S. Tennis Association said the "entire USA Tennis Olympic contingent is heartbroken for Coco."

"We wish her the best as she deals with this unfortunate situation and hope to see her back on the courts very soon," it added, and said it knew she'll be rooting for her teammates.

Jennifer Brady, Jessica Pegula and Alison Riske will compete for the U.S. in women's singles.

Gauff did not state whether she has been vaccinated. It's possible but less likely for vaccinated people to test positive for the coronavirus.

Thousands of athletes, coaches, officials and media are streaming into Tokyo. They go through rigorous coronavirus testing before departing from their home countries and comply with strict protocols upon arrival to maintain separation from the Japanese population and decrease risk of an outbreak.

Still, positive cases are starting to emerge in the Olympic bubble, including two athletes from the same team. Their positive tests on Sunday made them the first known cases of athletes to test positive in the Olympic village.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Merrit Kennedy is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers a broad range of issues, from the latest developments out of the Middle East to science research news.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content