Coco Gauff lifts lid on battle with COVID-19 which forced Olympics withdrawal

Coco Gauff: Annabel Croft praises 'extraordinary' 17-year-old

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Coco Gauff has opened up on her battle with coronavirus, which saw her forced to withdraw from Tokyo 2020. The young American sensation had been looking forward to competing in her first Olympics when, on July 18, she announced she had tested positive for Covid and had to miss the games. During the women’s invitational event at the Citi Open, she admitted she was still suffering with a loss of smell.

Gauff had made the second week of Wimbledon for the second successive time in her young career when she was gearing up to represent America in the women’s tennis event at the Olympics.

The 17-year-old said she barely suffered with any symptoms apart from the loss of smell, which is still plaguing her.

Ahead of her match against Victoria Azarenka at the women’s invitational tournament in Washington, she said: “I’m just happy that I didn’t have really many symptoms. I was pretty much asymptomatic. I just had — still have — a loss of smell. But other than that, I’m A-OK.”

The world number 25 admitted she was yet to be vaccinated against coronavirus due to her young age and life on the tennis tour but is planning to get jabbed ahead of the upcoming US Open, which starts at the end of this month.

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“The real problem is just getting the dosages spaced out and, obviously, going from country to country is difficult. But I’m going to get it as soon as I can,” Gauff said.

Her father and coach, Corey Gauff, received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine back in April, but his 17-year-old daughter in anticipating receiving a double-dose jab.

She is currently planning to receive her first dose between the Cincinnati tournament, which runs from August 16, and the US Open, which runs from August 30.

The two-time WTA Tour title winner is then hoping to receive a second shot at the conclusion of the Grand Slam tournament in New York, which ends with the men’s final on September 12.

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Gauff is currently competing in her first event since testing positive for the virus, at the Citi Open’s invitational.

Having been a WTA tournament in the past, Washington was only able to stage an official men’s event but made up for it with a four-player exhibition series.

The 17-year-old had previously won the women’s doubles title alongside Caty McNally at the Citi Open back in 2019, while the single’s champion from that year, Jessie Pegula, is also part of the invitational field.

Gauff kicked off her exhibition campaign with an impressive 6-4 6-1 win over Azarenka, who is defending the Western & Southern Open title and US Open finals later this summer.

Jennifer Brady is the final WTA star competing in the exhibition, having made the final of the Australian Open earlier this year.

The four players are all set to compete at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal next week, a WTA 1000 event.

A number of top stars have already pulled out of the event, including Iga Swiatek, Sofia Kenin, Venus Williams, Angie Kerber, Belinca Bencic, Barbora Krejcikova and Marketa Vondrousova.

The defending US Open champion, Naomi Osaka, is also missing the Montreal event as she prepares to retain her Grand Slam title in New York in a few weeks’ time.

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