For most people a professional fall from grace typically doesn’t lead to a stint at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. But most people are not Maria Sharapova.
The tennis phenom will soon start Harvard Business School, if her social media accounts are to be believed. Sharapova announced her intentions to attend Harvard, one of the top-ranked business school in posts on Twitter and Facebook Saturday. The announcement comes a few weeks after the International Tennis Federation suspended Sharapova from the sport for two years following a failed drug test at the 2016 Australian Open.
It’s unclear what coursework Sharapova would be completing at the school. Neither Harvard Business School nor Sharapova’s rep immediately responded to requests for comment, but the Associated Press reported she’d take two classes on campus as part of her program.
Regardless, she would join other athletes and celebrities in walking through the school’s hallowed halls. The school developed a certificate program specifically geared toward professional football players in 2005 to help them learn to evaluate business opportunities and manage their personal brand, among other skills. Former NFL cornerback and president of the NFL Players Association, Domonique Foxworth, recently received an M.B.A. from Harvard. Model and television personality Tyra Banks also regularly touts her credentials from the school (she enrolled in a certificate program there in 2011).
With her enrollment, Sharapova would become one of many of her fellow tennis colleagues taking business courses. Tennis pro Venus Williams earned a bachelor’s in business administration degree from Indiana University East online last year, through a partnership with the Women’s Tennis Benefits Association, a nonprofit representative organization for women tennis players. At the time, the association said 15 other professional women tennis players were also enrolled in the program.
It appears Sharapova already has some business savvy. She held the title of highest-paid female athlete in the world, according to Forbes, for 11 years, until Serena Williams unseated her earlier this year. Forbes estimates her total 2016 earnings, including prize money and endorsements, to be $21.9 million. After her doping scandal, Nike and Porsche took a hiatus from promotional activities with the star. Still, other brands, including Avon AVP, and Evian continued working with Sharapova, according to Forbes.
Adding the trusted Harvard brand to her résumé could help the tennis star enter back into fans’ and companies’ good graces following the doping scandal.
This article was originally published on Marketwatch.