US tennis player Coco Gauff had tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing her to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the world of tennis with Rafael Nadal being the latest addition to the list of professional tennis players to have tested positive for the virus. 2021 was still a relatively better year as fans got to experience more competitions than the year before. However, Covid outbreak scares were not rare. Players have tested positive while taking part in a competition and that has often disrupted the flow of events. Some big-name players missed tournaments as they were recovering from the virus. Three such players were Coco Gauff, Paola Badosa, and Aryna Sabalenka.
US tennis player Coco Gauff had tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing her to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics. She made her name in the 2021 US Open where she reached the final as a doubles competitor at the age of 17.
“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,” she had tweeted. “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.”
“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 US Tennis Association said in a statement. “We wish her the best as she deals with this unfortunate situation and hope to see her back on the courts very soon. We know Coco will join all of us in rooting on the other Team USA members who will be traveling to Japan and competing in the coming days.”
Spanish player Paula Badosa was the first player who was supposed to play in the Australian Open who tested positive for Covid-19. “I’m feeling unwell and have symptoms, but I’ll try to recover as soon as possible listening to the doctors. I’ve been taken to a health hotel to self-isolate and be monitored,” the world number 67 had tweeted at the time.
“I have some bad news,” she had then tweeted. “I received a positive Covid-19 test. I’m feeling unwell and have symptoms. I talked about rules that changed overnight but I understand the sad situation we are living. Sorry guys. Stay safe,” she added.
Aryna Sabalenka had tested positive for Covid-19 back in October ahead of the Indian Wells tournament. The world number 2 was forced to isolate and miss the whole competition.
“Unfortunately I’ve tested positive at Indian Wells and won’t be able to compete,” the Belarusian had written in an Instagram story. “I’ve started my isolation and I’ll be staying here until I’m cleared by the doctors and health officials. So far I’m looking ok but really sad to not be able to play this year,” she had added.
