Kostyuk completes Harvard Business School course designed for athletes

2m read 15 May 2026 1mo ago

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Summary

Marta Kostyuk recently added a Harvard Business School course to her impressive resume. The program, designed for elite athletes, helps them prepare for business activities post-sports career. Kostyuk joins a prestigious list of athletes who have completed the program, including former World No. 1s and Olympic medalists. She shared her completion certificate on social media, highlighting the valuable experience of stepping outside the tennis world.

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Marta Kostyuk's 2026 resume on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz is impressive: two titles, including her first WTA 1000 triumph at the Mutua Madrid Open, and a new career-high ranking.

But before that, she bolstered her off-court resume last year by completing a course at the famed Harvard Business School designed specifically for elite athletes.

For nearly 10 years, the "Crossover Into Business" program is, according to the school, "built to help professional athletes be better prepared for business activities during and after their active sports careers ... all in a way that fits the athletes’ busy lives, is tailored to their interests, and leverages the acclaimed Harvard Business School case method." Athletes partner with current MBA candidates as mentors to analyze case studies and gain insight to high-level business decisions through the lens of sports.

Harvard Business School launched the pilot program in 2017 in partnership with the NBA. Ten active and recently active players, along with a group of 20 second-year MBA candidates participated. Since then, two free courses are held per year -- one in the fall semester and one in the spring -- and the program counts alumni from the NBA, WNBA, NFL, NHL, NWHL, MLS and NWSL -- plus nearly four dozen tennis players, including 30 from the WTA.

Previous participants include former World No. 1s Victoria Azarenka, Garbiñe Muguruza, Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki, former Top 10 players Caroline Garcia and Andrea Petkovic, and Olympic silver medalist Donna Vekic.

Kostyuk said "it was fun stepping outside of the tennis world for a bit and meeting people from completely different backgrounds" as she shared her completion certificate -- which she was thrilled to "finally" receive -- in a post to social media this week.

After withdrawing from this week's Internazionali BNL d'Italia to nurse a hip injury and lingering ankle issues, the Ukrainian will arrive at Roland Garros later this month on a 12-match winning streak, hoping to better her career-best Grand Slam result of a quarterfinal.

WTA Staff