Coco Gauff ahead of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz in 2025 most marketable athletes list
Six tennis players feature in the top 50 of the latest Most Marketable Athlete list with Coco Gauff the only tennis star in the top 10.
The SportsPro Most Marketable Athletes list ranks stars in terms of their total marketability out of 100 and the three categories consist of brand strength (35), total addressable market (35), and economics (30).
The score out of 100 takes into account an athlete’s commercial resonance and future potential.
Formula 1 great Lewis Hamilton tops the list with his move from Mercedes to Ferrari playing a big role in his rise as he jumped 10 places from last year, scoring 96.03 out of a possible 100 with his brand strength 34.30, total addressable market 31.73 and economics 30.
The seven-time F1 world champion replaced Simona Biles at the top with the American gymnast dropping one place after scoring 95.20 while American rugby star Ilona Maher jumped five places to No 3 with a score of 92.1.
They are followed by NBA star Stephen Curry (88.80), Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (88.17), Brazilian footballer Neymar (86.83), WNBA player Caitlin Clark (84.70), NBA great LeBron James (84.63), NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo (83.63) and Gauff (83.30).
Two-time Grand Slam winner Gauff is up three places and she scored 33.60 for brand strength, 20.30 for total addressable market and 29.40 for economics.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed another successful year on the WTA Tour as she won her second major, the French Open in June, beating world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final before winning the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open in October.
Gauff sits at No 3 in the WTA Rankings and she is also third in terms of top WTA prize money earners in 2025 as she has earned $7,274,845 to date with Sabalenka ($12,313,519) and Iga Swiatek ($9,417,532) ahead of her.
The American is currently 11th in the all-time list with $29,064,121, but it is only a matter of time before she cracks the top 10.
For the first time, each athlete was also given a persona classification and the athlete persona model “translates scores into sponsor fit and portfolio design” and Gauff was defined as a “consistent performer” with the likes of Hamilton and Biles falling under “cultural icon” and Mayer “niche icon”.
Tennis News
Prize money earned by Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic, Zverev & Fritz in 2025
Prize money earned by Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Anisimova, Osaka and Raducanu in 2025
“Cultural icon” Novak Djokovic is the next best in terms of tennis and he comes in at No 15 with a score of a total of 81.00 after scoring 31.03, 24.97 and 25.00 across the three categories.
Having won a record 24 Grand Slams, it is not a surprise to see Djokovic there, but he has played second fiddle to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in recent years.
The Serbian has not won a major since 2023 with Alcaraz and Sinner each winning four since the start of 2024.
Current world No 1 Alcaraz – who won this year’s French Open and US Open – is three spots below Djokovic in the marketable list after scoring 30.80 for brand strength, 21.93 for TAM and 26.80 for economics.
The Spaniard has earned $16,048,017 in terms of prize money so far with Sinner second on that list with $12,352,773.
Reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Sinner sits at No 21 on the list with a total score of 77.37 (25.90, 24.27, 27.20).
Alcaraz is rated as a “consistent performer” while Sinner is a “rising star”.
No 27 Aryna Sabalenka (73.67) is also a “consistent performer” as she reached three of the four Grand Slam finals this year, but won only the US Open. However, she remains at No 1 in the WTA Rankings with No 40 Swiatek another “consistent performer” after winning Wimbledon this year.
