Coco Gauff continues investment trend among women tennis stars by backing Unrivaled

The GIST: On Monday, tennis star Coco Gauff joined a long list of athlete investors backing 3v3 basketball league Unrivaled, which has secured $35M in total funding. Gauff’s investment highlights how WTA athletes have proven to be adept investors across the board. Aces.

The earnings: The 20-year-old topped Forbes’ 2024 list of the highest-earning women athletes with $34.4M, which ranks third all-time for a single year behind fellow tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams. While Gauff benefits from high prize pools and equal Grand Slam payouts, she also made $25M from endorsements last year, meaning she has lots of moolah to invest.

The context: Williams and Osaka have been in the (investment) game even longer than Gauff. Before retiring, Williams launched venture capital firm Serena Ventures, then founded Wyn Beauty in 2024. Osaka is a part owner of the NWSL’s NC Courage and MLP’s Miami Pickleball Club in addition to owning production company Hana Kuma.

• This isn’t a coincidence: Tennis is consistently home to the highest earners in women’s sports thanks to equal pay and prime exposure that leads to elite brand deals. Aside from titans like soccer’s Alex Morgan and basketball’s Candace Parker, tennis stars are often the women athletes with the most capital to invest.

Zooming out: In addition to padding their own portfolios, investments from famous athletes add legitimacy to sports start-ups. Like Unrivaled, pro athletes have also backed LOVB, Pro Volleyball Federation, Major League Pickleball, Sail GP, and TGL — all either start-ups in non-traditional sports or popular sports leagues in non-traditional formats.

• These athlete investments prove sporty alternatives are winning ideas worth backing, while also providing athletes with a way to multiply their earnings. In women’s tennis, it just makes cents to take some of that chart-topping endorsement money and bank it in a solid business plan. Match point.