Coco Gauff Bagging Staggering $10M Despite Intense Tennis Season Stuns Renowned Journalist

Coco Gauff is her name, outshining others is her game! This 20-year-old American tennis star turned pro in 2018 and within these six years, she has won 9 singles titles, and guess what? That even includes the Grand Slam triumph at the 2023 US Open! “My mission is to be the greatest…That’s my goal, to win as many Grand Slams as possible,” said Gauff a few years ago. Talking about major titles, well, she didn’t win any of those in 2024, but she still became the highest-paid female athlete for the second year in a row in 2024. Renowned tennis journalist, Jon Wertheim recently spoke about this stunning stat during a recent conversation on the ‘Served with Andy Roddick.’

Gauff topped the list of the highest-paid female athletes for the second time in her career by earning around $30.4 million in 2024. According to the list published by Sportico, the American earned around $9.4 million in tournament prize money on the 2024 WTA Tour and $21 million from her endorsements and brand deals.

A few days ago we heard Wertheim say, “The free market is a barometer for success, look at the WTA in 2024. Cailin Clark made roughly $80,000 in her rookie salary. That’s first-round prize money at a major. Nelly Korda won seven (!) LPGA events and pulled in $4.4 million in official earnings for ’24. Coco Gauff won more than that for one week of matches at the WTA Finals.” During the recent episode of Andy Roddick’s podcast, Jon Wertheim said, “People are going to look at her (Coco Gauff’s) 2024, that the whatever is going to stick out is: I’m calling it up here – 9,353,847. She won almost $10 million in prize money and obviously a build of that came by winning in Riyadh.”

Coco Gauff went through a lot of ups and downs this season, she came closer to winning titles multiple times but Gauff failed to deliver when it mattered the most. Hence the world number 3 ended the season with just 3 singles titles! Highlighting those ups and downs, Wertheim added, “But what’s impressive to me is 54 singles wins! She didn’t get to a major final even. 54 wins in a year that saw a change to her game, saw her coaching change, that saw her win the previous major of 2023 and not get back on the board.“

He didn’t stop here, the renowned journalist further expressed his astonishment after seeing so many wins in her “transition year.” Jon Wertheim said that people often talk about her incredible athleticism and overall game, but he finds it quite fascinating to see how Coco Gauff “carries out her business.” According to him, if every player had sort of a B+ year winning almost $10 million, more than 50 matches, and adjusting to such changes amid all these at the same time, then this certainly an outline of what’s coming up next in the upcoming years.

What was Coco Gauff‘s reaction after notching up around $4.805 million in prize money for the title at the WTA Finals? It was the biggest payout in history for a women’s tennis event, topping the $4.42 million that Ashleigh Barty earned during the 2019 WTA Finals. Speaking on that big amount, Gauff said, “Oh really! I didn’t know, jeez! I knew it was some money but I didn’t know it was that much! It means a lot to me.” How will she spend those winnings, though? 

In reply to that, she answered, “4.8. Oh gosh. I hope I am one of the highest-paid female tennis players or athletes this year, that will be exciting…Honestly, I wanted to win this for myself, I didn’t know it was the prize cheque on this tour. I knew there was money but I never play for this. But that is cool!” With the 2025 season knocking at the door, everyone is now keen to see Gauff surpassing her achievements from the previous season. What are Gauff’s goals in the upcoming season and what do experts think about her chances in 2025?

Coco Gauff feels confident about winning her second Grand Slam title in January

Coco Gauff has now set her eyes on achieving a Grand Slam triumph in 2025! She reached the SF of the 2024 AO, how far can she go this time around, though? Well, in a previous interview, Gauff highlighted the importance of her WTA Finals win before heading to the 2025 AO. She said, “Honestly, in any slam, there’s always one match that I feel like you don’t play as well, but definitely having that experience over the end of the year gives me a lot of confidence. Doing everything I can to prepare myself and doing everything I can at the moment to win, but maybe not putting so much weight on wins and losses, which is something I’ve done in the past.“

She further added, “I always play my best tennis when I least expect to win a tournament; WTA Finals, I definitely wouldn’t have expected that, and then same with the US Open win.” What do tennis experts think about her chances at the 2025 AO and the season overall? Well, German star, Andrea Petkovic looked quite optimistic with Gauff’s chances in 2025. During a recent conversation, she was heard saying, “I’m very excited for Coco Gauff’s 2025 season because I really liked what I saw at the end of the year…With the coaching change and the fricking grip change in the middle of the season on her serve.“

Petkovic is “super impressed” seeing her overcome all the challenges in 2024! What does she think about Coco Gauff’s chances at the AO, though? “I think that Coco Gough will be one of the favorites,” said the German. Do you agree with Andrea Petkovic?