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Coco Gauff took to Twitter to announce that she will not make her first appearance in the Tokyo Olympics later this month after testing positive for COVID-19.

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Source: Xinhua News Agency / Getty

The 17-year-old tennis star broke the bad news on  Sunday, July 18, letting fans know that her dreams have been put on hold after testing positive for the virus.

“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 wrote in a statement. “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 continued,  “I want to wish TEAM USA best of luck and a safe games for every Olympian and the entire Olympic family,” adding the prayer hands emoji along with red, white, and blue hearts to her post.

It was only a little over two weeks ago that Gauff was chosen to represent Team USA in the women’s singles division at the Olympics–but unfortunately, that excitement ended up being short-lived.

“The entire USA Tennis Olympic contingent is heartbroken for Coco,” the U.S. Tennis Association said in a statement, according to NBC News. “We wish her the best as she deals with this unfortunate situation and hope to see her back on the courts very soon.”  

Seiko Hashimoto, the Tokyo Olympics president, confirmed on Saturday in a news conference that someone within Olympic Village had tested positive for COVID-19–but said it was a person who was helping organize the Games, not an athlete.

Less than 24 hours later, ESPN reported that two members of the South African soccer team and a video analyst were already in Olympic Village when they tested positive. Those infected will be moved to the “Tokyo 2020 isolation facility,” while the rest of the team will remain in isolation.

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