Gauff had almost £1m of sponsorships by age of 15 after ‘aggressive’ bidding war

Coco Gauff cemented her status as a superstar when she lifted her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open on Saturday night. In front of a home crowd, the 19-year-old stormed back to beat world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2. But Gauff has long been tipped for greatness as she had brands bidding to sponsor her before she had even turned 15, signing deals worth around £800,000 ($1 million).

Gauff’s US Open victory was the culmination of years of hard work and steady progress up the ranks of the professional tennis tour. The American is the most experienced teenage Grand Slam champion in years, as 2023 marks her fourth full season on the circuit.

She burst onto the scene at Wimbledon in 2019, becoming the youngest player in the Open Era to qualify for the main draw at the age of just 15. She announced herself by upsetting Venus Williams in the first round before making it to the second week. By the end of the year, she had won her first title.

But it seems that even her breakthrough as a 15-year-old wasn’t a surprise to some, as sponsors were knocking on the door before her debut at the All England Club. “The manufacturers, all of them were interested in signing her,” Gauff’s agent Tony Godsick told Forbes shortly after that Wimbledon run in 2019.

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“This time last summer, there was a very heated and aggressive attempt by multiple companies to sign her. And she ended with New Balance, which was wonderful for her, and she was very excited to sign with a company that doesn’t have so many players.”

Gauff also signed on with racket sponsor Head and with Italian food company Barilla before her first appearance at a Major. Along with the New Balance contract, the deals were worth around £800k ($1m).

The Barilla partnership was finalised a few months before the American stormed into the last 16 at Wimbledon. The world No 3 has been signed to TEAM8 – the agency set up by Godsick and Roger Federer – since she was just 13 years old.

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Godsick explained that he approached Barilla and touted Gauff as a long-term project, adding: “Certainly when we talked to them about, there was not a thought in their mind, or certainly in our mind, that she would be out in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. We finished the deal in March. So four months later. But it works out sometimes.”

With Gauff now a Grand Slam champion at a new career-high singles ranking of No 3 – she’s also the world No 1 in doubles – there’s no doubt that more brands will be trying to get in on the hype as the teenager goes from star to phenom. But she will be staying loyal to New Balance as the US Open champion called her sponsor “the best shoe brand in the world” during an Instagram Live on Sunday.

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