DeLone says she found the process of returning to campus surprisingly simple. “For them to allow me to come back after 10 years was amazing,” she says. “All I had to do was tell them I wanted to come back, and they said just e-mail us a couple weeks before registration.”

But deLone faced some unusual difficulties adjusting in her sophomore year.

“I took Marine Biology, and they would be showing slides of Bali, or of coral reefs in Australia,” she says. “I would miss the tour sitting there in class and realizing that I could actually be out there in other parts of the world doing exciting things. It was pretty hard getting into study mode.”

She naturally returned to tennis, helping to coach the women’s team during her first year back. “Initially I missed competing, and challenging myself, so it was an adjustment,” she says. “But now I don’t miss playing at all.”

DeLone remains active with tour, serving on the WTA Board of Directors. Involvement with the Board, which negotiates tournament rules, decides prizes, and sets long-term WTA policy, has also helped deLone keep in touch with players around the world.

DeLone will attend business school at Wharton next year with hopes of returning to tennis on the business side of the WTA. She says that without the typical burden of extracurriculars she has missed far fewer classes than the typical college student. “Now it makes me wonder how other athletes do it, and keep everything balanced.”

—Staff writer Ashley B.T. Ma can be reached at abma@fas.harvard.edu.