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No rest for the banned: Maria Sharapova attends Harvard Business School

She might be serving a two-year doping ban, but tennis star Maria Sharapova won’t be twiddling her thumbs during that enforced sabbatical after enrolling ...
Maria Sharapova

She might be serving a two-year doping ban, but tennis star Maria Sharapova won’t be twiddling her thumbs during that enforced sabbatical after enrolling for a course at the prestigious Harvard Business School.

The tennis superstar posted a photo of herself at the campus gates on Twitter and Facebook last weekend.

The Harvard Business School’s admissions process is notoriously tough, accepting only 11% of all 2016 applicants.

Sharapova’s representatives did not immediately respond to CNN’s request to clarify what qualifications, if any, she will gain.

The former world No. 1 and five-time grand slam champion has an estimated net worth of $195 million, with “Brand Sharapova” even encompassing candy products.

Sharapova tested positive for meldonium during January’s Australian Open, a medication added to the list of banned substances at the start of 2016.

Porsche and TAG Heuer dropped their endorsements of Sharapova, while the United Nations also suspended the athlete’s status as a goodwill ambassador with its Development Program; a job described by Sharapova as “one of my proudest contracts ever.”

Her ban lasts until January 25, 2018, though Sharapova has launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Sharapova says had she taken the heart medication since 2006, and was unaware it had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list.

The CAS is expected to deliver its ruling by July 18. But even if the ban is upheld, Sharapova appears already prepared for a life after tennis.

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