Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff named most marketable tennis players in the world

US Open champions Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff have been named the two most marketable tennis players in the world, according to SportsPro’s 50 Most Marketable list.

The 14th edition of the list features Djokovic and Gauff at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively. For the first time since 2017 and for just the second time ever, there are no tennis players inside the Top 10.

Still, tennis players frequently dominate earnings and marketability lists for individual athletes, and SportsPro’s 2023 list is no different, with eight of the 50 Most Marketable being tennis players. The list also highlights another trend unique to tennis: While overall just 23 of the Top 50 are female athletes—the most ever featured—in tennis the demographics are reversed, with six of the eight players featured being WTA players.

Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who came in at No. 41, are the only ATP players featured among the Top 50—perhaps a worrying sign that global awareness of men’s tennis is still stuck in the Big 3 era, even after Roger Federer’s 2022 retirement.

Click here for the full SportsPro 50 Most Marketable list, and check out below to see which tennis players made the cut.

• No. 11 Novak Djokovic
• No. 12 Coco Gauff
• No. 14 Naomi Osaka
• No. 18 Aryna Sabalenka
• No. 21 Emma Raducanu
• No. 41 Rafael Nadal
• No. 43 Petra Kvitova
• No. 50 Ons Jabeur

Topped by soccer megastar Lionel Messi and basketball legend LeBron James, SportsPro’s 50 Most Marketable list—which they’ve called “the most comprehensive assessment of athlete marketability ever undertaken”—was created using extensive data analysis, advanced social media monitoring, economic valuations, expert and consumer insights with NorthStar Solutions Group.

Athletes were ranked according to SportsPro and NorthStar Solutions Group’s ‘marketability score’, which is made up of three components: brand strength, total addressable market, and economics. Brand strength weighs in-sport performance, reputation and presentation, while total addressable market takes into account an athlete’s overall reach and audience engagement—both as an individual, and within their sport as a whole. Meanwhile, economics incorporates the athlete’s net worth and community impact.

The biggest takeaway from the Top 50 is that soccer remains king—with men’s and women’s soccer players making up 22 spots. The list also continues to track the rise of Formula 1, with both Lewis Hamilton (No. 7) and Max Verstappen (No. 10) making the Top 10 for the first time.