Tennis star Coco Gauff has shown her belief in Unrivaled by becoming the new basketball league’s latest investor despite Caitlin Clark’s recent snub

Coco Gauff jokingly apologised to her dad for not becoming a basketball player after investing in the new Unrivaled league. The tennis star’s backing takes funding for the new women’s basketball league up to £28million, despite the recent blow of WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark deciding not to play in it.

The very first season of Unrivaled is set to get underway next week, on Friday, January 17th. It will be a 3-on-3 women’s basketball league played on a smaller court, consisting of six teams of six players competing in four seven-minute quarters.

Unrivaled was founded by U.S. basketball team Olympians Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart to allow WNBA players to carry on playing during the offseason. Its roster includes WNBA stars Angel Reese and Sabrina Ionescu, with 2023 U.S. Open winner Gauff now joining its star-studded array of investors.

Last month, Unrivaled secured £22.3m in funding from other high-profile athletes, including two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, 23-time Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps and New York Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony.

Other famous celebrities outside of sport who have invested are actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis. Gauff has now made the decision to join the £28m ($35m) funding wave, with her involvement now taking the total investment up to that figure. A delighted Gauff announced on X: “My dad always wanted me to follow in his footsteps and play basketball. Haha sorry dad but this is as close as it will get.

“In all seriousness, I’m incredibly grateful to get the opportunity to uplift women’s sports and I am super excited to join the @Unrivaledwbb family! I can’t wait to watch.”

Support for Unrivaled comes in light of the recent growth in women’s basketball, with Indiana Fever sensation Clark’s arrival in the WNBA playing a huge role in its increasing popularity. Clark, a former Iowa college hero, is arguably one of the most recognisable figures in U.S. sports presently.

WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark declined a huge offer to play in Unrivaled (Image: Getty)

She enjoyed a record-breaking inaugural WNBA campaign with the Fever after being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft before winning the Rookie of the Year award. However, despite receiving a reported £800,000 ($1million) dollar offer to become Unrivaled’s biggest star, the 22-year-old declined.

Clark explained that her stunning decision was a result of her prioritising some much-needed rest in the offseason after playing back-to-back NCAA and WNBA terms. Speaking about snubbing the Miami-based event, Clark told TIME: “I didn’t rule out doing it in the future, but this year is just not the best for me. It’s going to be good for me to do my own thing and have my own space. I kind of want to just stay out of the spotlight.”

As for the prospect of Clark playing in the Unrivaled league in the future, the competition’s president Alex Bazzel said previously: “We’re always going to have a roster spot for Caitlin Clark. We’re not applying a full court press the way people think. We are letting her decompress from basketball… She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready.”