While tennis has made significant strides in ensuring equal pay for men and women, the same cannot be said for many other major sports and Coco Gauff is hot on their heels, using Caitlin Clark as her weapon.
The American tennis star, who won the 2025 French Open, recently voiced her concerns over the persistent gender pay gap affecting female athletes in sports such as basketball.
“I love just being inspired by women,” Gauff told USA Today Sports. “And having my media and what I consume be it women.
“I think it’s great that finally I feel like the other 50% maybe of the world are recognizing the worth in women’s sports and I think it is so inspiring, definitely.
“I get inspired by it and playing in tennis being so lucky to have things like equal prize money in our biggest events.
“[It] means a lot so I would love to see that attention go onto other sports and because those women definitely deserve it.”
The 20-year-old, now a Grand Slam champion and one of the sport’s top earners, spends a clear message that while tennis has made progress, other female athletes continue to battle financial inequality.
Nowhere is this imbalance more glaring than in the case of Caitlin Clark, who has engineered historic viewership and attendance in the WNBA after devastatingly lighting up the college scene.
Yet despite her enormous impact on the league’s visibility and marketability, Clark‘s salary, set by the league’s pay structure, is nowhere near her male counterparts in the NBA.
The Indiana Fever guard makes $78,066 from the WNBA, whilst Steph Curry for the Golden State Warriors makes an astonishing $59,606,817 per year. That’s an increase of 763.5 times over for Clark to match.
Even Erin Kane, Clark‘s agent at Excel Sports Management, has acknowledged the structural limitations that undervalue her economic influence – despite her being the face of the sport.
“I don’t think that’s possible, Kane said. “She is part of a larger player body that needs to be paid more by the WNBA.
“She should be recognized for what she has done and what she’s brought to the league from an economic standpoint. It’s as simple as that.”
The situation reveals an uncomfortable truth: even the most popular and influential female athletes are not paid according to their commercial value, raising serious questions about how sports leagues assess-and reward-contribution.
Coco Gauff net worth 2025: How much money does she make?
In contrast to Clark‘s situation, Gauff‘s success on the tennis court has translated into substantial financial rewards as the sport backs its women comparative to its men in 2025.
In 2024, she claimed the title at the WTA Finals, earning a staggering $4.8 million in prize money, and that payday helped her top Forbes’ list of the highest-paid female athletes.
“I knew it was some money, but I didn’t know that much,” Gauff said, revealing her shock. “Oh, it means a lot to me… I have bought a house… I’m going to a music festival next week.
“So, I don’t know; I’m not someone who likes to spend a lot of money, to be honest. I don’t know what I’ll do with it.
“That’s a lot of money. Oh gosh, I hope I’m like one of the highest-paid female tennis players this year or athletes so that’ll be exciting.”
Gauff also won $2.95 million from defeating Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros in 2025. Overall, her net worth stands at an estimated $35 million as per Celebrity Net Worth.
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