The top female tennis player in the world, Justine Henin, has earned almost 20 million USD in career prize money. But she says she'd like to go to university when her tennis playing days are over.
Like a lot of her colleagues on the tour, school studies are something on their minds once they retire from tennis. Serena Williams, for example, while in Berlin for the Qatar Telecom German Open, said "I always loved school. I'd like to take a degree in business."
But some of the players aren't waiting, and are studying while competing at an elite level, which is the subject of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education and the DKB-ISTAF's "Degrees of Success - University Education and Elite Sport" symposium, being held May 31 in Berlin.
Ana Ivanovic is currently trying to balance the books, despite the fact that the travel demands of the pro tour means she can't attend classes. Fortunately, her university permits her to pursue her finance studies through distance education. Ivanovic confessed, "It's hard to focus on school, but it's an important part of my life. I have to travel a lot with my books, and read between competitions and practices."
Her compatriot Jelena Jankovic is enrolled at Megatrend University in Belgrade. Jankovic also admits she is progressing at a slow pace, which is understandable given the rigours of the circuit, and her ever-increasing off-court obligations associated with being a top international player. And while most students attend school to boost their career prospects, Jankovic explained, "I'm not studying to have a job after tennis - just to learn and be a more complete person overall."
Whatever their motivation, it's clear that with such a short playing career, athletes need something to focus on post-sport, even if the reason comes down to a teenage family promise.
Henin explained, "I think a lot about it, because I made a promise to my mom that I haven't yet been able to keep."
Who: ICSSPE and DKB-ISTAF
What: 4th Annual Dimensions in Performance Symposium - Degrees of Success
Where: Estrel Hotel - Sonnenallee 225, 12057 Berlin, Germany
When: 31 May 2008 Why: To discuss issues and challenges facing high performance athletes who attend university How: Free to attend, register at icsspe@icsspe.org until 16 May 2008
The 4th Dimensions of Performance symposium is also supported by the Universiade Hamburg 2015 Bid Committee.
The ICSSPE Executive Office is supported by the Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport, Berlin, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Germany, and by the Bundesinstitut für Sportwissenschaft, Germany.
Like a lot of her colleagues on the tour, school studies are something on their minds once they retire from tennis. Serena Williams, for example, while in Berlin for the Qatar Telecom German Open, said "I always loved school. I'd like to take a degree in business."
But some of the players aren't waiting, and are studying while competing at an elite level, which is the subject of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education and the DKB-ISTAF's "Degrees of Success - University Education and Elite Sport" symposium, being held May 31 in Berlin.
Ana Ivanovic is currently trying to balance the books, despite the fact that the travel demands of the pro tour means she can't attend classes. Fortunately, her university permits her to pursue her finance studies through distance education. Ivanovic confessed, "It's hard to focus on school, but it's an important part of my life. I have to travel a lot with my books, and read between competitions and practices."
Her compatriot Jelena Jankovic is enrolled at Megatrend University in Belgrade. Jankovic also admits she is progressing at a slow pace, which is understandable given the rigours of the circuit, and her ever-increasing off-court obligations associated with being a top international player. And while most students attend school to boost their career prospects, Jankovic explained, "I'm not studying to have a job after tennis - just to learn and be a more complete person overall."
Whatever their motivation, it's clear that with such a short playing career, athletes need something to focus on post-sport, even if the reason comes down to a teenage family promise.
Henin explained, "I think a lot about it, because I made a promise to my mom that I haven't yet been able to keep."
Who: ICSSPE and DKB-ISTAF
What: 4th Annual Dimensions in Performance Symposium - Degrees of Success
Where: Estrel Hotel - Sonnenallee 225, 12057 Berlin, Germany
When: 31 May 2008 Why: To discuss issues and challenges facing high performance athletes who attend university How: Free to attend, register at icsspe@icsspe.org until 16 May 2008
The 4th Dimensions of Performance symposium is also supported by the Universiade Hamburg 2015 Bid Committee.
The ICSSPE Executive Office is supported by the Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport, Berlin, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Germany, and by the Bundesinstitut für Sportwissenschaft, Germany.
