Coco Gauff has been making huge strides in tennis not just on the court, but off it too. When she won the WTA Finals title last November, she became the first American since Serena Williams in 2014 to clinch the season finale. Likewise, she also pocketed massive prize money. A $4.8 million boost helped her secure the top spot as the highest-paid female athlete in 2024, with a staggering $30 million in earnings. But guess what? Even after this incredible accomplishment, the World No.3 has failed. Why so?

On Friday, Sportico released the list of the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes. For the second year, in a row, popular soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo emerged as the clear winner ranking on top. He was number one with mind-boggling earnings of $260 million in 2024. In the top five, there were two NBA stars as well.

While Stephen Curry secured the second spot with $153.8 million, LeBron James was the fifth highest-earning sportsperson with $133.2 million. Shockingly, this elite list features no female athlete from any discipline whatsoever.

Even after making $30.4 million last year in prize money from WTA events, Coco Gauff couldn’t find a place among the top 100. This is even though 2024 witnessed a huge jump in women’s sports in terms of engagement and investment. Thanks to various sponsors, 15 female athletes managed to earn nearly $221 million last year.

It was a jump of 27 percent compared to 2023, according to Sportico. Still, the top 100 list has got no woman athletes, including Gauff. But is there any specific reason behind her omission? Well, the answer is yes.

While Gauff made $30.4 in 2024, the amount was still $7 million, less than the required figure of $37.5 million to make it to the top 100 list. That’s the simple reason she’s nowhere to be seen among the highest-paid athletes.

But this list must be the least of Gauff’s concerns right now. Just when she appeared to make a solid impact in 2025, her on-court fortunes turned upside down.

Coco Gauff’s form takes a hit after a shocking exit at Qatar Open

Since her WTA Finals victory in November 2024, Coco Gauff‘s performance has been tremendous. At the beginning of this year at the United Cup, she even led her country to a second title win. In the final at Sydney, against Poland, she defeated former World No.1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets. Her win gave a 2-0 lead to Team USA in order to lift the trophy.

Then at the Australian Open, Gauff looked in great touch. Before her quarterfinal appearance, she was among the frontrunners to lift the coveted trophy this season. However, fans were shocked to see her losing against Paula Badosa in the QF round. The Spaniard beat her in straight sets and took the match with a score line of 7-5, 6-4. But this was just the beginning of her poor phase in 2025.

In her first WTA event since Melbourne, at the Qatar Open this week, the World No.3 failed to impress. Despite having a Bye, due to which she got a direct entry in the second round, the 2023 US Open champion couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk dominated her in a one-sided R32 battle and won with a final score of 6-2, 7-5.

With that, Gauff’s losing streak in Doha continued as she lost in R32 last year and the quarterfinal in 2023. Will she make a promising comeback going forward? Only time will tell.