TENNIS

Photo Credit: JUSTIN LANE / EFE

Although Coco Gauff is still too young to drink or barely old enough to vote in the USA, that hasn't stopped her from amassing quite a fortune.

The 19-year-old earned quite the payday over the weekend, defeating Belarus' Arena Sabalenka to become the US Open champion.

The victory saw Gauff take home $3 million, a figure that helped boost her season earning to $5.5 million and her career earnings to $11.1 million.

Even without the Grand Slam title, Gauff would still have quite the bank account thanks to her growing list of endorsement deals.

Who does Gauff have endorsement deals with?

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Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been suspended from professional tennis for four years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Romanian "committed intentional anti-doping rule violations " by failing a drug test during the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport, the ITIA said.

Photo Credit: LAPRESSE

Novak Djokovic emerged from an exhilarating and exhausting U.S. Open final with a 24th Grand Slam title on Sunday night, using every ounce of his energy and some serve-and-volley guile to get past Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in a match that was more closely contested than the straight-set score indicated.

Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, moved one major singles title in front of Serena Williams to become the first player to win 24 in the Open era, which began in 1968. Margaret Court also collected a total of 24, but 13 of those came before professionals were admitted to the Slam events.

Photo Credit: LAPRESSE

The 2023 US Open will forever be etched in history, and at the heart of this year's tennis spectacle is the undeniable star power of Coco Gauff. With her resounding victory in the women's final against Aryna Sabalenka, Coco, at just 19 years old, has achieved a historic feat, becoming the first American teenager to conquer the US Open since the legendary Serena Williams did so at the tender age of 17 in 1999. While her meteoric rise in the tennis world has been nothing short of remarkable, there's more to Coco Gauff than her triumphs on the court. Let's delve into the fascinating life of this tennis sensation when she's not smashing forehands and acing opponents.

Photo Credit: Charles Krupa

Coco Gauff never wavered one bit Thursday night. Not when match point after match point went by the wayside. Not during a 40-shot exchange that ultimately helped decide the outcome. And not, most distracting of all, when her U.S. Open semifinal against Karolina Muchova was interrupted for 50 minutes by environmental activists — one of whom glued his bare feet to the concrete floor in the stands.

It’s been rather obvious for quite some time that Gauff is no ordinary teenager. Now she is one win away from becoming a Grand Slam champion.

Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, reached her first final at Flushing Meadows by defeating Muchova 6-4, 7-5 on what was anything but an ordinary evening.