American tennis icon Coco Gauff has already made significant waves in her career at such a young age. At 20, Gauff has clinched the esteemed US Open and achieved world No. 1 rankings, along with defeating her dominant counterparts like Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. Most recently, Gauff defeated Swiatek in straight sets to bring America their second United Cup.
In addition to that, the young tennis prodigy has also amassed a significant fortune thanks to her success on the court in the past few years. As a result of her strides on court, the 20-year-old Georgia native recently took a trip down entrepreneurship road and chose basketball over tennis as she takes a major step in her career.
Coco Gauff chases new pursuits
As per recent reports, Gauff made a whopping $35m investment in the Unrivaled basketball tournament. Unrivaled is a three-on-three women's basketball league founded in 2023 that aims to give the players a domestic option during the offseason. The season of the league is all set to kick off on Friday, January 17, and prominent WNBA names like Angel Reese and Sabrina Ionescu are set to feature in the league.
In addition to Coco Gauff, other prominent sports and Hollywood icons like Giannis Antetokounmpo, the swimmer with the most Olympic medals, Michael Phelps; NBA prodigy Carmelo Anthony; Ashton Kutcher; and Mila Kunis have also invested in the league, already making it a celebrity affair.
Reflecting on her thoughts about joining the league, Gauff said her investment in the venture aims to uplift the women's sports and expressed her excitement for the competition.
"In all seriousness, I'm incredibly grateful to get the opportunity to uplift women's sports and I am super excited to join the @Unrivaledwbb family! I can't wait to watch," Gauff said.
She playfully mentioned her father, who had hoped she would follow in his footsteps and play basketball, saying:
"My dad always wanted me to follow in his footsteps and play basketball. Haha sorry dad but this is as close as it will get."
Although the aforementioned superstars have made investments in the league, the Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark is one of the stars who rejected investing in the league.