Professional Tennis Player Caroline Garcia Enrolls at Harvard Business School

French professional tennis player Caroline Garcia has used her offseason to enroll in Harvard Business School’s semester-long Crossover Into Business program.

With career-high rankings of No. 4 in singles and No. 2 in doubles, Garcia is the 2022 WTA Finals champion and a two-time major champion in doubles, winning the French Open women’s doubles in 2016 and 2022.

Garcia, who founded the “Tennis Insider Club” podcast with her partner Borja Durán in 2023, said in an interview with The Crimson that the opportunity to study at HBS is “perfect timing” for her personal and professional life, combining her interests in both sports and media journalism.

“I’m more at the end of my career in tennis, and I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge outside,” she said, pointing to other professional athletes like LeBron James who have worked extensively in media.

The Crossover Into Business program, piloted by HBS professor Anita Elberse in 2017, aims to help professional athletes “develop their business acumen by working with MBA student mentors,” according to the HBS website.

Though the Crossover Into Business program was originally launched in partnership with the NBA, it has since expanded to represent athletes from a variety of sports leagues, including the WNBA, NWSL, NFL, and NHL.

This year, Garcia is one of five Hologic Women’s Tennis Association players enrolled in the Crossover program, joining Aldila Sutjiadi, Angelina Gabueva, Fernanda Cotreras and Katarzyna Piter. Despite knowing past WTA players who have completed the program, Garcia said she “was not expecting” the opportunity to join herself.

“I got an email from WTA asking if I wanted to enter the program, which was kind of a sign,” she said. “I haven’t had the chance to go to school since my 18th because of tennis, so I felt it was a good time to go back to school and learn new things.”

Elberse, who teaches the popular MBA course “The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports,” said the mentorship in the Crossover program helps combat the “sobering” statistics of professional athletes who face financial difficulties following their fame.

“I think where it started for me was the realization that many, many athletes make a lot of money during their careers, then they lose it very quickly after their careers,” Elberse said.

The Crossover Into Business Program, in Garcia’s case, also serves as an environment separate from the “stressful” sport scene.

“The first crossover I’m doing now is quite short in time, but it was already a good success for me to put the first step in experiencing a different environment,” she said. “I’m learning a lot and meeting a lot of great people through the program, so I will be happy to keep joining the program in the future.”

—Staff writer Ava H. Rem can be reached at ava.rem@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @avar3m.