Before Matija Pecotić (MBA 2019) beat Jack Sock—a tennis star once ranked 8th in the world—at a Florida tournament in February, he had to ask his boss for time off to compete. "I had to send an email to the whole team. [My boss] let me off," Pecotić, the director of capital markets at Wexford Real Estate Investors, told ESPN. "I'm going to have to ask for another day off tomorrow."

In a recent article on the ATP Tour's website, Pecotić traces the roots of his career, which included a longshot outreach from his high school in Malta to Princeton, where he would ultimately become a three-time Ivy League Player of the Year. While his professional tennis career has been slightly derailed by health issues and COVID, he expressed gratitude to all of those who have helped support him on his journey—including his former HBS classmates.

"Were it not for my first backer out of Princeton, I wouldn't have even been able to play professionally. Were it not for these incredible guys in Boston that I met in business school who convinced me that I should dream and give tennis another shot, I wouldn't be here," Pecotic told the ATP. "I feel so privileged and there are just so many people that should be part of this victory. This is a lot more than just a win for me."

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