Gauff is just 21 but already thinking about what to do after tennis

LONDON (AP) — To be clear, Coco Gauff didn't bring up the word “star” during a recent interview with The Associated Press; the reporter did. So as Gauff began to answer a question about balancing her life as a professional athlete with her off-court interests, she caught herself repeating that term.

“I definitely didn’t know how it would look like,” she began with a smile, “before I got to be, I guess, a star — feels weird to call myself that — but I definitely did want to expand outside of tennis. Always. Since I was young.”

She still is young, by just about any measure, and she is a really good tennis player — Gauff owns the Grand Slam titles and No. 2 ranking to prove it as she heads into Wimbledon, which begins Monday — but the 21-year-old American is also more than that.

Someone unafraid to express her opinions about societal issues. Someone who connects with fans via social media. Someone who is the highest-paid female athlete in any sport, topping $30 million last year, according to Sportico.com, with less than a third of that from prize money and most via deals with companies such as UPS, New Balance, Rolex and Barilla. Someone who recently launched her own management firm.

And someone who wants to succeed in the business world long after she no longer swings a racket on tour.

“It's definitely something that I want to start to step up for post-career. Kind of start building that process, which is why I wanted to do it early. Because I didn’t want to feel like I was playing catch-up at the end of my career,” said Gauff, who will face Dayana Yastremska in the first round at the All England Club on Tuesday.

“On the business side of things, it doesn’t come as natural as tennis feels. I’m still learning, and I have a lot to learn about," Gauff said. "I’ve debated different things and what paths I wanted to take when it came to just stimulating my brain outside of the court, because I always knew that once I finished high school that I needed to put my brain into something else.”

In a campaign announced this week by UPS, which first partnered with Gauff in 2023 before she won that year's U.S. Open, she connects with business coach Emma Grede — known for working with Kim Kardashian on Skims, and with Khloe Kardashian on Good American — to offer mentoring to three small-business owners.

“Coco plays a key role in helping us connect with those younger Gen-Z business owners — emerging or younger entrepreneurs,” Betsy Wilson, VP of digital marketing and brand activation at UPS, said in a phone interview. “Obviously, she’s very relevant in social media and in culture, and working with Coco helps us really connect with that younger group.”

While Grede helped the entrepreneurs, Gauff also got the opportunity to pick up tips.

“It's really cool to learn from someone like her,” Gauff said. “Whenever I feel like I’m ready to make that leap, I can definitely reach out to her for advice and things like that. ... This will help me right now and definitely in the long term.”

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich.

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis