Coco Gauff will be the US female flag bearer at the Olympics opening ceremony, joining LeBron James

PARIS (AP) — Tennis star Coco Gauff will be a part of LeBron James as a flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic workforce at Friday’s opening ceremony.

Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is about to make her Olympic debut on the Paris Video games and would be the first tennis athlete to hold the U.S. flag. She and James had been chosen by Staff USA athletes.

“I imply, for me, the Olympics is a prime precedence. I’d say equal to the Grand Slams. I wouldn’t put it above or beneath, simply because I’ve by no means performed earlier than. That is my first time,” Gauff stated earlier this 12 months. “Clearly, I at all times need to do properly, attempt to get a medal.”

Gauff and James, the 39-year-old main scorer in NBA historical past, each compete in sports activities which are outdoors the standard Olympic world and get consideration year-round, not simply each 4 years.

The 20-year-old Gauff made the American workforce for the Tokyo Video games three years in the past as a teen however needed to sit out these Olympics as a result of she examined constructive for COVID-19 proper earlier than she was purported to fly to Japan.

Now Gauff, who is predicated in Florida, is a Grand Slam title winner in singles and doubles. She gained her first main championship in New York in September, defeating Aryna Sabalenka within the singles closing of the U.S. Open, then added her first Grand Slam doubles trophy on the French Open this June alongside Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.

The identical clay courts at Roland Garros used for the French Open can be the place matches are going to be held for the Paris Olympics. The draw to set the brackets is Thursday, and play begins on Saturday.

Gauff is seeded No. 2 in singles, matching her present WTA rating behind No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, and can be among the many medal favorites.

She and her typical doubles companion, Jessica Pegula, are seeded No. 1 in ladies’s doubles. And Gauff and the highest-ranked American man, Taylor Fritz, had been seeded No. 2 in combined doubles when these pairings had been introduced Wednesday.

“I’m not placing an excessive amount of stress on it, as a result of I actually need to absolutely indulge within the expertise,” Gauff stated about her Olympic debut. “Hopefully I can have the expertise a number of instances in my lifetime, (however) I’ll deal with it as a once-in-a-lifetime expertise.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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