Who are the most marketable tennis players of 2024?

Coco Gauff leads the list among the most marketable tennis players.

Every year, SportsPro puts forth a list of what they deem to be a list of 50 most marketable players. This year, there are 23 newcomers on the list. Among the 50 athletes on the list, 28 are men, and 22 are women. The average age is 28, and classified by the sport top three categories are 15 from football, 11 from basketball and eight from tennis.

Here, we shall be covering the eight names listed. The exploits of each of these tennis stars make them household names and bankable stars. They endear themselves to spectators and sponsors alike.

The list showcases the sport’s established legends along with its rising stars. Among the tennis stars, Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are newcomers.

Also Read: Coco Gauff surpasses Novak Djokovic as most marketable tennis player in 2024

8. Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek made a pathbreaking WTA main draw debut by winning the 2020 Roland Garros title on her Grand Slam debut. It was Swiatek’s first WTA singles title, an improbable milestone that made her the first Polish player, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title.

The then unseeded 19-year-old dispatched Sofia Kenin in straight sets to prevail 6-4, 6-1. Swiatek was the first woman to clinch the title without conceding a set since Justine Henin’s title run in 2007 and only the second unseeded champion at Roland Garros. Jelena Ostapenko won the title unseeded in 2017.

The Pole went on to win three more French Open titles between 2022 and 2024, reinforcing her standing as the ‘Queen of Clay.’

7. Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka won her first Grand Slam in New York at the 2018 US Open. It was the beginning of an undefeated run of four straight major finals. Osaka won the US Open twice (2018, 2020), followed each time by Australian Open trophies (2019, 2021).

Osaka gave the Japanese their first homegrown champion when she won the 2018 US Open with victory over Serena Williams. She was voted the 2016 WTA Newcomer of the Year and became the first Asian woman to be ranked No. #1 in the world after overcoming Petra Kvitova in the 2019 2019 Australian Open final.

Naomi Osaka walked away from the 2021 French Open citing mental health issues. She also dropped out of Wimbledon, made an early exit at the US Open and ended her season early. The 27-year-old is back on tour and her comeback trail after a maternity break.

6. Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner made a splash in the 2019 season by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals a month after reaching the ATP 250 European Open at Antwerp. It was the Italian’s first tour-level semi-final and a springboard to the dizzying heights that were to follow.

Sinner broke into the ATP Top 10 in 2021 as a 20-year-old before becoming the first Italian to claim the World No. #1 position in the ATP Rankings at 22 in June 2024.

The Italian dethroned 10-time Australian Open champion Djokovic in the last four and rallied from two sets down facing Medvedev in the final to win his first Grand Slam.

The World No. #1 has claimed seven titles in his most successful season adding the US Open trophy and three ATP 1000 titles to the Australian Open trophy. Sinner clinched the year-ending No. #1 position on reaching the Shanghai Masters semi-finals.

Also Read: How many titles has Jannik Sinner won this year?

5. Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka has been on an absolute tear in the 2024 season, opening with a strong showing at Melbourne to win her second straight Australian Open trophy. Sabalenka completed her title defence without dropping a set. She is also 3-0 in finals since last year’s Australian Open at Grand Slams to cap a dominant year.

The current World No. #1 demolished Paris gold medallist Qinwen Zheng without breaking into a sweat for a straight-set win. Sabalenka and Zheng clashed once again in the quarterfinals of the US Open with the same result – a straight-set win for the Belarusian.

Also Read: How many titles has Aryna Sabalenka won in 2024?

Sabalenka added two more titles in 2024 by winning the WTA 1000 Cincinnati and Wuhan events to go up 23-1 since August. She also reclaimed the WTA No. #1 spot from Iga Swiatek ahead of the WTA Finals.

4. Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal’s foray into tennis began when he was introduced to the sport by his uncle and longtime coach, Tony Nadal. Nadal is the recipient of two Laureus World Sports Awards for Sportsman of the Year (2011 and 2021), Comeback of the Year (2014) and Newcomer of the Year (2006).

Nadal’s 14 titles on the clay courts of Roland Garros are second to none. Only thrice did Nadal lose at his favourite venue – Robin Soderling (2009) and Novak Djokovic (2015 and 2021). 

The Spaniard won 63 clay court events from a total of 92 ATP-level tournaments. Twenty-six of those clay court wins were at the ATP 1000 Masters, including Madrid (5), Monte-Carlo (11), and Rome (10).

Also Read: Top 16 most marketable athletes in 2024

3. Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz caught the tennis bug early on at age four. The Spaniard, named ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2020, considers countryman and former World No. #1 Rafael Nadal his idol.

Alcaraz made early inroads as a professional tennis player, becoming the youngest and first teenager to rise to World No. #1 and year-end No. #1 in the ATP Rankings since 1973. Alcaraz achieved the No. #1 rankings on winning the 2022 US Open, defeating Casper Ruud in the final.

Currently the World No. #2, the Spaniard defeated seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 finals. By doing so, he became the second man after Federer (7) in the open era to win his first four Grand Slam finals.

Alcaraz also settled into a new-found rivalry with Jannik Sinner, with whom he shared the spoils at the majors in 2024, with Alcaraz and Sinner winning two each. Apart from winning at London and Paris, Alcaraz also picked up wins at Indian Wells and Beijing.

Also Read: How many titles has Carlos Alcaraz won this year?

2. Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, or ‘Nole’ as he also goes by, began playing tennis at four and idolised Pete Sampras growing up. The Serb has a preference for hard courts, and most of his successes have come on that surface.

While the 2024 season may have been a letdown judging by Djokovic’s high standards, it was also the year he captured the elusive Olympic gold to complete the Golden Slam.

The former World No. 1’s best result in ATP-level tournaments was reaching the title rounds at Wimbledon and the ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai. At Wimbledon, he lost to Carlos Alcaraz and in Shanghai to Jannik Sinner.

Also Read: ‘I am sorry…’ – Novak Djokovic makes bold claim about retirement

Djokovic clarified that his goal is to focus on Grand Slams and representing Serbia in team events. This placed other events on the back burner. Over 700 match wins have come on hard courts for Djokovic, along with 71 of his 99 titles.

1. Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff first picked up a tennis racquet at the age of six, admitting to idolising the Williams sisters for their tenacity, indirectly inspiring her career choice as a professional tennis player.

Gauff, one of the bigger servers on the WTA Tour, has a playing style best suited to hard courts. The American possesses a versatility that works well on all surfaces. While her first Grand Slam win came on the hard courts of New York, she reached the title round at the 2022 French Open.

The World No. #3 also reached the last four in Melbourne and Paris for back-to-back semi-finals in majors this year. Gauff effected a turnaround by winning the China Open in October, close to nine months after winning the ASB Classic in Auckland in January.

The 20-year-old from Florida will be making the trip to the WTA Finals for the third straight time.

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