19-year-old tennis phenomenon, Coco Gauff, took the world by storm this year, capturing our attention and our hearts. Atlanta (and the world) watched as the young tennis star rose to the top, winning her first ever Grand Slam, at this year’s U.S. Open. She’s now in the company of the tennis greats, following in the incredible footsteps of Serena and Venus Williams, as well as Naomi Osaka.
And with all of her amazing tennis prowess, the teenage legend, is the highest earning female athlete of 2023.
Tell me more about the title
Sportico reports, “For two decades, the title of highest-paid female athlete has belonged to one of a trio of tennis stars in Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka. Yet, Williams retired last year, and Sharapova hung up her racket in 2020, while Osaka took the year off from tennis with the birth of her daughter Shai and paused many of her lucrative endorsement deals. It set the stage for a new No. 1, with three athletes tightly bunched.”
Sportico combines the totals of each athlete’s salary, game winnings, and total endorsements to calculate how much each athlete makes per year.
Sportico says, “Gauff, who turned 19 in March, has been on the radar of corporate sponsors for half a decade. By her 15th birthday, she already had multiyear agreements with racket maker Head, Italian pasta giant Barilla and New Balance. Those partners are still in place, and she added new sponsors this year in Bose, UPS and accounting firm Baker Tilly. Rolex is another partner, and after her Open win, she did campaigns for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and The Marvels movie.”
So how much exactly did Gauff make this year?
The highest paid female athlete of 2023, Coco Gauff made “$22.7 million from prize money and endorsements in 2023″ (Sportico). This is broken down in to $6.7 million from salary and winnings and another $16 million from endorsements.
Atlanta is proud of our very own, Coco Gauff, for all of her amazing accomplishments. And of course, we’re excited to see what she does next!
Read more about the highest paid female athletes at Sportico’s website!