Coco Gauff is one of four women’s players to earn more this year than the world’s richest tennis ace, Jessica Pegula, ahead of the U.S. Open. The doubles partners are top ten debutants in the latest Forbes ranking alongside Emma Raducanu, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka.

Notably, there is no place for either Williams sister in 2023. Serena, who has announced the birth of her second child, was not eligible after “evolving away from tennis” after last year’s U.S. Open.

Meanwhile, Venus, who has a wild-card entry into Flushing Meadows next week, has dropped out of the top ten. That is mainly due to transitioning away from traditional tennis endorsement deals for more celebrity-focused brand opportunities.

Gauff, 19, is one beneficiary of their absence but has equally fuelled her rise with fine on-the-court form. After reaching the French Open quarterfinals, she has this month won the Cincinnati Masters and the Washington Open.

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Those feats have helped Gauff earn £2.5million in prize money. However, her off-court business is even more lucrative, with Barilla, Head and New Balance endorsement deals, plus new partnerships with accounting firm Baker Tilly, Bose and UPS amounting to an estimated £9.5m.

Together, her yearly earnings total £12.1m and have her at 7th-place in these recently released rankings. Contrastingly, Pegula only sneaks onto the list at No. 10 despite enjoying an even more impressive last 12 months.

The World No. 3 has reached the quarterfinals at three out of the four Slams during this period. A third-round exit at the French Open is the only exception.

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Alongside her doubles successes with Gauff in reaching the Australian Open semi-finals and that same stage at Roland Garros, Pegula has made £3.9m from the sport. However, her off-court earnings are half that of her fellow American at an estimated £4.8m.

Away from her personal income, the wealthy family she comes from is where the ‘world’s richest tennis player’ tag originates. Pegula is the daughter of Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula.

Her parents are worth an estimated £5.3billion. But after years of distancing herself from the title, Pegula no longer hides from it heading into the U.S. Open.

“I know what haters say: ‘The only reason she’s good is because she has money,’” she told Vogue in an interview. “But for the most part, I think people have found that it’s an interesting story. It’s made me think, OK – I’m not going to hide from this.”

As these rankings display, she is more than making a name for herself in the sport outside of her parents’ shadow. Only World No. 1 Swiatek (3rd), Raducanu (6th), Gauff (7th) and Osaka (9th) make more than her as an individual.

Equally, only men’s players Novak Djokovic (1st), Carlos Alcaraz (2nd), Daniil Medvedev (4th), Rafael Nadal (5th) and Casper Rudd (8th) claim a place above her.

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