• by Danielle Oster , June 25, 2024

Tennis phenom and 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff entered into a multiyear brand ambassador agreement with Naked Brand.

The move marks the first such agreement for Gauff -- currently ranked number two for women’s tennis globally by the World Tennis Association -- with a beverage brand. In announcing the news, the juice and smoothie brand named Gauff its “Chief Smoothie Officer.”

Gauff is no stranger to brand partnerships. The 20-year-old star signed her first brand agreement with New Balance at the age of 14; she signed an extension on that contract in 2022 and has since released a signature sneaker.

The Naked brand partnership won't be the first time Gauff has visibly been associated with fruit, either. Last year the young star attracted attention for her courtside snack: a homemade fruit salad prepared by her parents.

According to Naked, this agreement goes beyond the typical athlete sponsorship role, marking a “first of its kind” relationship.

In the announcement, Gauff noted the role included “the opportunity to co-create real fruit juice smoothies alongside the innovation team and help shape the future of Naked.”

A launch video promoting the partnership sees Gauff fielding a press conference in which she declines to comment on rumors while an increasing number of Naked Brand smoothies appear on the table. She eventually relents enough to provide a one-word hint: “smoothie.” (It’s a bit confusing why she’d call a press conference to not announce any news, but there you have it.)

In addition to posting the video to its YouTube channel, Naked and Gauff shared it with a collaborative Instagram post across both accounts.

In a statement, Glen Walter, CEO of Tropicana Brands Group (of which Naked is a part) said the brand would work with Gauff to “dream and develop the future of the Naked brand and product portfolio with her unique spin,” adding, "As an athlete, advocate, daughter, sister, friend, and now Chief Smoothie Officer, Coco is a true multi-hyphenate and knows better than anyone that you can be many things at once."

That line could be an allusion to Naked’s recent portmanteau-forward “When Thungry, Get Naked” campaign focused on the brand’s promise of addressing thirst and hunger simultaneously.