“If you look in the world right now, there’s very few iconic global female athletes,” said Tony Godsick about Coco Gauff in 2019. The American player had been on an explosive grass run at Wimbledon and had almost become an overnight sensation after taking down Venus Williams. But there was one man managing Gauff’s success from behind the scenes and he is still doing so now – Roger Federer‘s friend and former agent, Tony Godsick.

Gauff has long been associated with Team 8, a company that Federer and Godsick established together in 2013. Along with Gauff, Ben Shelton is also a prime client of the company. Is it any wonder then that the agent mastermind was found in Gauff’s box today?

Interestingly, Gauff’s dad and longest-standing coach, Corey Gauff, was not with the rest of her team. He was spotted with Godsick, but not with Gauff’s team Athletes are often superstitious, and the Gauff family follows one such belief too. At the Australian Open earlier this year, Gauff said in a post-match interview, “My dad is here. I don’t know where. But he’s here somewhere. Sometimes my dad says some words that I can’t say right here… [Laughs.] [So] we agreed he can go say them somewhere else. If you guys see him, tell him I said, ‘Hello.’” 

It’s to be noted, however, that while Godsick helps to oversee Gauff’s overall career, her day-to-day agent is Alessandro Barel Di Sant Albano. But Federer’s friend nevertheless remains impressed with the young talent and believes she’s just getting started, both on and off the court. He told Forbes in 2019, “There is going to be a tremendous amount of opportunity for her, both from the media front, and with appearances, and going to shows, and all that stuff.”

Now if you look at some of Gauff’s most famous deals in the past, New Balance would be impossible to miss. But for the agency Gauff is signed with, one of the founders of the company himself has a stake in another sportswear brand. That’s right, Roger Federer’s On Running. So how did New Balance come about for Gauff? And was there any bad blood between the parties because of it?

Tony Godsick supports Coco Gauff’s New Balance signing

Coco Gauff signed with New Balance in October 2018 and six years later, the partnership is still going strong. While Tony Godsick wanted to take it slow with sponsorships for the then-15-year-old Gauff, he was in favor of Barilla and New Balance, and even Head, the racquet maker.

“She ended with New Balance, which was wonderful for her, and she was very excited to sign with a company that doesn’t have so many players,” the veteran agent said. “Barilla was a company that we knew, that we had done business with…I spoke to them and said, look, we have a very special talent. It’s a long-term project, but she has done a deal with New Balance and she is allowed to wear a patch we would love to see if she can align. She eats pasta, every athlete eats pasta at some point during their day…so it was a natural fit.”

Gauff’s NB deal is as successful as ever and according to a recently released list by Forbes, she is the highest-paid female tennis player in the world right now. With her off-court work earning her more than on-court appearances, who knows, she might join Federer himself on the tennis billionaires list one day!