Imagine being just 20 and cementing your position among the highest-paid tennis stars. Surely, that must be special. We are talking about none other than Coco Gauff, who is achieving new milestones at such a young age. Last year, the American sensation went on to win her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open and her fame has reached new heights since then. She is among the most-talked-about American athletes, and her popularity has resulted in various sponsorship deals. As per Forbes, Gauff is the highest-paid female tennis player this year, with numerous sponsorship deals lined up.

Earlier this week, Forbes released the list of highest-paid tennis players of 2024. Coco Gauff was at the third position overall and the first position as far as women players were concerned. Over the course of this year, Gauff has pocketed an astonishing $27.1 Million, with a big chunk of her earnings coming from off-court endorsement deals. Precisely speaking, the American star has won $7.1 Million in prize money while $20 Million has come from endorsement deals.

Not only Gauff won the singles title at the US Open last year but also the women’s doubles title at the French Open this year. As a result, the marketers showed a lot of interest in her for sponsorship activities, as they wanted to use her rising popularity to the brand’s advantage. Gauff now has 11 long-term sponsorship deals, as she recently added the hair care line Carol’s Daughter, Naked Brand Juices, and Fanatics to her endorsement portfolio. Additionally, she has also collaborated with American Eagle for a new fashion collection and will be appearing in a limited-edition box of Wheaties.

The Forbes list was topped by Carlos Alcaraz, who has made a total of $42.3 Million in 2024. Following him was Novak Djokovic, who pocketed $37.2 Million. The only other woman in the top 5 apart from Gauff was Iga Swiatek with $26.7 Million in earnings. With the US Open coming up, a successful campaign there will further boost Gauff’s popularity. As she begins her title defense next week, the 20-year-old is confident of a good showing.

Coco Gauff relishing the new opportunity of defending the US Open title

It will be the first time that Gauff will enter a Grand Slam tournament as a defending champion. Although her form has taken a major hit lately, the American sensation is confident of going deep into the tournament. During a pre-tournament press conference, she talked about how excited she was to defend her title.

Gauff revealed, “Yeah, it’s a new year for a new opportunity. Really excited to be back here and have a great tournament. Obviously, coming in as defending champion is a little bit of pressure, but also more of a privilege, because as my new motto is: If you defend, that means you won something before. I’m excited to be back here and hopefully have a good two weeks.”

Coco Gauff, the third seed at the US Open, will open her campaign against Varvara Gracheva. It’ll be interesting to see if she can win back-to-back US Open titles. What do you think?