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PARIS — Tennis star Coco Gauff would be the feminine flag bearer for the US at this week’s Olympic opening ceremony in Paris, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee introduced Wednesday.

In Friday’s opening occasions, during which a whole bunch of U.S. athletes will seem on a ship as a part of a procession down the River Seine by means of the guts of Paris, the 20-year-old Gauff will be part of basketball nice LeBron James in carrying the American flag. Each Gauff and James had been chosen by a vote of their fellow rivals on Staff USA.

Gauff would be the youngest ever U.S. flag bearer at an Olympic opening ceremony. (The gymnast Simone Biles carried the U.S. flag on the 2016 closing ceremony in Rio de Janeiro when she was 19 years previous.) Gauff may also be the primary tennis participant to carry the honour.

“I by no means thought in 1,000,000 years I might have the honour of carrying the American flag for Staff USA within the Opening Ceremony,” Gauff mentioned. “I couldn’t be extra proud to steer my teammates with LeBron as we showcase our dedication and fervour on the most important stage there’s – at a second the place we will carry athletes and followers collectively from around the globe.”

Gauff is at present ranked by the Girls’s Tennis Affiliation because the world’s second-ranked feminine participant. She gained the U.S. Open in 2023, her first Grand Slam title.

This yr marks Gauff’s first Olympic look after she was compelled to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when she examined optimistic for COVID-19.

On this summer time’s Olympics, tennis shall be held at Roland-Garros, the identical legendary venue that hosts the French Open annually. Final month, Gauff reached the semifinal of that event, the place she misplaced to No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, the Polish participant who’s the highest seed — and gold medal favourite — within the Olympic singles occasion.