"This is why Coco Gauff can't even pronounce debts" - Tennis fans react to the American becoming world's highest-paid female athlete
Tennis fans on social media are more than impressed at Coco Gauff becoming the world's highest-paid female athlete of 2023.
Gauff has topped the charts as the highest-paid sportswoman, after earning $22.7M this year. The 2023 US Open champion's major share of the earnings comes from brand endorsements and tournament prize money.
The 19-year-old is the brand ambassador of fitness apparel company New Balance. Some of the other brands that the American endorses include Barilla, UPS, and Baker Tilly. She earned $3M on winning the US Open.
Tennis players dominated the pay charts this year with seven of them making it to the top 10. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek trails Gauff by $0.8M in second place. Naomi Osaka surprisingly claimed the fifth spot despite her inactivity on tour this season. Emma Raducanu, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Jessica Pegula also made it to the list.
Gauff has now broken the two-decade dominance of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Naomi Osaka in the pay charts.
Fans online showered praise on the teenager for her achievement. One fan joked that Gauff can't pronounce "debts" as her checks keep clearing.
"This is why she can’t even pronounce debts, the checks clearinggggggg," they wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another fan opined Gauff deserved "every penny" of her earnings, writing:
"deserves every penny"
With Gauff's ever-expanding endorsements and achievements on the tour, one fan opined that the American is expected to continue to top the charts.
"She may be at the top for a while!," their tweet read.
Here are a few other fan reactions on Coco Gauff topping the female athletes' pay charts:
A look into Coco Gauff's 2023 season
Coco Gauff arguably enjoyed tremendous success on the tour this year, since turning pro in 2018.
Gauff commenced the season with a title win at the ASB Classic. However, the initial hard-court swing turned out to be underwhelming for the American. At the Australian Open, she was handed a fourth-round exit by Jelena Ostapenko. She lost 5-7, 3-6 to the Latvian.
Gauff put up a better display at the French Open. She cruised to the quarterfinals where she was defeated 4-6, 2-6 by eventual champion Iga Swiatek. At Wimbledon, the 19-year-old suffered a shocking first-round exit, falling 4-6, 6-4, 2-6 to Sofia Kenin.
However, it was during the second hard-court swing that Gauff excelled on the tour. The American won the Citi Open and the Western & Southern Open before topping it off with a title at the US Open. She defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final to claim her first-ever Grand Slam trophy.
Gauff finished the season as World No. 3 with four titles and a win percentage of 76.11%.