September 23, 2023 update: New Balance and Coco Gauff’s “”Call me Coco Champion” t-shirt is no longer available on newbalance.com. There are some resale sites like Ebay selling authentic versions of the shirt but beware of fakes because there are a lot of them out there!
Read the original story below.
Tennis player Coco Gauff took to the tennis world by storm with her first Grand Slam championshp at the US Opens on Saturday where she defeated Belarus’ Aryna Sablenka in three sets, making her the youngest U.S. player to win since Serena Williams in 1999. Named after her father, Corey Gauff, the 19-year-old Gauff’s real first name is Cori, but she prefers to be called Coco.
Shortly after winning the tournament, the New Balance-sponsored athlete was handed a “Call me Coco Champion” t-shirt, which was worn Gauff during a press confernce following the event. While lots of fake versions of the t-shirt immediately popped up online, New Balance is selling the authentic verson of the top available on its website.
New Balance signed Gauff at age 14 to a multi-year endorsement contract, which included the launch of a signature shoe in July 2022. New Balance first lanched the Call Me Coco shirt and campaign in 2019, after she defeated Venus Williams in the first round at Wimbledon. The shirt was designed to introduce her to the world and the media which referred to her as Cori following the win, according to a New Balance spokeswoman.
Priced at $29.99 and sized men’s XS-XXL, Gauff’s t-shirt is now availalbe on newbalance.com.
