The GIST: With Saturday's US Open victory, 19-year-old Coco Gauff became the first American teenager to claim a Grand Slam singles title this century and just the fourth to do it in the Open Era. Her dub also comes with numerous business wins and opens the door for more trailblazing in the future. Barbie dreams.
The earnings: Thanks to her victory, Gauff will rise to WTA world No. 3 today, the highest ranking of her career. She took home $3M in winnings from this year’s record $65M prize pool, putting her total 2023 on-court earnings at over $5.6M, surpassing now–world No. 2 Iga Świątek. Making money moves.
- Gauff’s career on-court earnings now sit at $11.1M as she rapidly climbs the leaderboard for career earnings in women’s tennis. She could also pass Emma Raducanu and Rafael Nadal on 2023’s list of highest-paid tennis players. Take that, Tennis Twitter.
The endorsem*nts: Gauff benefited from a 15.4% increase of the winner’s payout at the most lucrative Grand Slam event, but the title is worth much more than the purse itself. For example, Emma Raducanu was not a household name before winning the 2021 US Open, but now rakes in millions from brand deals.
- By contrast, Gauff was already world No. 6 going into the tournament and boasts several key endorsem*nts, including new ones this year with Baker Tilly, Bose, and UPS. Gauff also has multiyear deals with Head, Barilla, and New Balance, and her victory will likely help her add more sponsors to her roster.
- Winning a Grand Slam gives players an advantage when it comes to endorsem*nts and Gauff should be no exception. Add in seven figures in sponsor bonuses from her US Open win and management by Roger Federer's high-profile Team8 agency, and it’s clear that Coco is going from superstar to supernova.
The future: The historic win punctuates a new era of tennis, solidifying Gauff as one of several U.S. women to carry the torch following the Serena-Venus era. American success in Flushing — specifically, the Black tennis excellence epitomized by Gauff, Madison Keys, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton — draws in more fans and ad dollars.
- However, there are still battles to be fought — Gauff took home $455K for her Cincinnati Open win last month, less than half of the men’s championship prize. But it’s all just more gas for Coco's fire, and she's burning brighter than ever before.
