Washington (AFP)

Young and promising American tennis player Coco Gauff announced on Sunday that she would not participate in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for Covid-19.

"I'm so disappointed," the 17-year-old tweeted.

“Representing the United States at the Olympics has always been a dream for me, and I hope to have more opportunities to achieve it in the future,” she added.

Gauff had reached for the first time the quarter-finals of a grand slam at Roland Garros this year.

She won her second title in May in Parma (Italy), after winning the tournament in Linz (Austria) in 2019.

The 25th player in the world will have to observe a period of quarantine.

The list of tennis players who had to withdraw from the Olympic tournament is growing: before Gauff, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and Bianca Andreescu had notably withdrawn.

Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty, who dominate the men's and women's world rankings, are expected to participate, however.

© 2021 AFP