Ashley Harkleroad (born May 2, 1985), is an American tennis player. Born in Rossville, Georgia, Harkleroad reached a career-high ranking of No. 39 on June 9, 2003. Her career prize money to date is $1,009,244. Harkleroad was the first WTA tennis player to pose naked for the American men’s magazine Playboy.
Career: Harkleroad turned pro on June 12, 2000, and was quickly billed as the next American tennis superstar. Her debut was at the ITF tournament in Largo, Florida, in 1999. The following year she played her first WTA qualifying event in Miami, Florida and her first Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. In 2001, she returned to the same events while improving her status on the ITF Circuit. In 2002 she won her first tour matches, reaching the second round at San Diego, Hawaii, and Bratislava, where she made her first doubles semi-final with partner María Emilia Salerni. She ended 2002 in the top 200 for the first time.
Her breakthrough year was in 2003, when at Charleston she defeated three top 20 players at the time (No. 16 Elena Bovina, No. 19 Meghann Shaughnessy, and No.9 Daniela Hantuchová), losing just 11 games along the way to reach her first tour semifinal before losing to Justine Henin-Hardenne. She became the lowest-ranked semifinalist (No. 101) in the event’s history since unranked Jennifer Capriati reached the finals in 1990.
After that performance, on April 14, 2003 she broke out from No. 101 to climb to a No. 56 ranking. Subsequently she reached the semifinals again at Strasbourg and scored her second Top 10 win and second over Daniela Hantuchová at Roland Garros while reaching the 3rd round and for the second time winning past the first round at a grand slam. On June 9, 2003 she soared into the Top 50 at No. 39 and reached the final in doubles at the Japan Open in Tokyo.
In 2004, she made her career first Tour final (at Auckland) before losing to defending champion Eleni Daniilidou. For most of the 2005 season, Harkleroad sat out due to various injuries and an illness in the family, but the time she was on court was spent on the ITF Women’s circuit winning 2 titles. She did however reach a tour doubles final at Quebec City.
Ashley Harkleroad Profile
Country: United States – Los Angeles
Residence: Wesley Chapel, Florida, United States
Date of birth: May 2, 1985
Place of birth: Rossville, Georgia, United States
Height: 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight: 54.8 kg (121 lb; 8.63 st)
Turned pro: (June 12, 2000)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $1,009,244 (Update 2010)
2006: Harkleroad played her first main tour event since 2005 at Auckland, successfully qualifying for the main draw only to fall in the opening round. She failed to qualify at Sydney before reaching the second round of the Australian Open (as a qualifier) where she pushed world number 4 Maria Sharapova in a tough match. On her way she upset a higher ranked opponent- Shuai Peng of China. This performance saw Harkleroad break back into the top 100 at number 83. Harkleroad ended 2006 at #86 in Singles and #55 in Doubles.
2007: Harkleroad was selected for the USA in the Hopman Cup after Venus Williams withdrew. She and partner Mardy Fish went 0–3 in the event. Harkleroad pushed Tatiana Golovin to 3 sets before losing 3–6,6–4,3–6. Harkleroad lost 3–6,0–6 to Nadia Petrova and 6–3,4–6,4–6 to Alicia Molik. Harkleroad started out the main WTA season in Hobart, Tasmania. She lost in the first round to Austrian Sybille Bammer 7–6(2),6–1. Bammer eventually defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. She lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the third round of the Australian Open 7–6 (6),5–7,3–6. In the previous rounds, she beat Meng Yuan of China 6–3,6–0 and upset 17th seeded German Anna-Lena Grönefeld 6–2,6–2. Harkleroad struggled in the clay court season and finished at Roland Garros in the second round losing to Venus Williams 1–6,6–7(8–10). Harkleroad was down 1–6, 1–5 before rebounding and holding set points. During this match, Williams hit the fastest recorded women’s main draw serve, a record which Venus broke again in the U.S. Open on August 28, 2007. In the grass court season, Harkleroad’s worst, Harkleroad played the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament for the second straight year as her Wimbledon warm-up. In 2006, she lost in the final to Caroline Wozniacki. This year, she defeated Wozniacki in the final to win the event. Harkleroad lost to Roberta Vinci, a good grass-court player in the first round of Wimbledon. In the U.S. Open Series, Harkleroad failed to qualify at the Acura Classic but qualified in Los Angeles and reached the second round before falling to Roland Garros runner-up Ana Ivanović 4–6,2–6. At the U.S. Open (tennis), Harkleroad fell to Ioana Raluca Olaru 5–7,6–1,4–6. Harkleroad will be playing for the first time since the U.S. Open in San Francisco, where she won $50,000 at the ITF challenger for the second consecutive year. Harkleroad ended the year by winning a $75,000 challenger in Pittsburgh and a $50,000 challenger in La Quinta back to back. She also ended the year ranked 67, her second highest year end to date. Harkleroad also won the doubles title in la Quinta with Christina Fusano. Harkleroad finished with a 29–20 record in singles and a 13–11 record in doubles for the 2007 season.
2008: Starting the year off as usual in Auckland, Harkleroad reached the second round, defeating 8th seed Émilie Loit before losing to home-crowd wild card Marina Erakovic. Jetting to Hobart, Harkleroad had a banner tournament. Staying in Australia, Harkleroad played in Hobart after winning three matches to qualify. She defeated three top-100 players before bowing out in the Semi-Finals to top seed Vera Zvonareva. In the Australian Open, Harkleroad lost to 30th seed Virginie Razzano.
Harkleroad debuted with the Fed Cup team for the United States just two weeks later. Facing Germany, Harkleroad, Lindsay Davenport, Laura Granville, and Lisa Raymond made up the United States team. Davenport was upset in a tie, giving the Germans a 1–0 lead. Harkleroad crushed Tatjana Malek and Sabine Lisicki, both in straight sets to help the U.S. win 4–1 and becoming the tie’s hero.
She then reached the final of the $75,000 ITF event in Midland where she was defeated by compatriot Laura Granville.
Her next tournament was the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells. She upset Lucie Šafářová and eighth seed Dinara Safina. She then lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the fourth round in three sets 6–2 4–6 6–4. At the Sony Ericsson Open, she reached the third round after taking out the 23rd seed Virginie Razzano impressively 6–4 6–4, but lost to Elena Vesnina 4–6 7–5 4–6. While at the Sony Ericsson Open, a large cyst on one of her ovaries burst and she was sent to the hospital. She made it through the ordeal but had to lose one of her ovaries.
At the 2008 French Open, she lost 6–2 6–1 against tournament favorite Serena Williams in the first round.
At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, she lost 6–4 6–3 against 2006 winner Amélie Mauresmo in the first round.
After losing early in the U.S. Open Series, Harkleroad withdrew from the U.S. Open due to a pregnancy. She took an indefinite break from tennis as a result. She gave birth on March 30, 2009 to a boy.
2010 comeback: Harkleroad planned on originally coming back at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, but decided to wait for the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida. She used her special protection rank of 72 to enter the main draw. She played Alicia Molik in the first round. She lost 6–1, 6–1 after only practicing like a player for a month. She plans on training and being a parent at the same time. Her next event will be World Team Tennis in the summer.
US Playboy’s first professional tennis player: After losing a tennis match to Serena Williams on May 25, 2008 at the French Open, Harkleroad told reporters she would appear in the August 2008 issue of Playboy, a decision she made while convalescing from ovarian cyst surgery in March, 2008. She appeared as the cover girl of the magazine, as well as in a four page full frontal nude pictorial, thus becoming the first professional tennis player to pose for Playboy.
AN INTERVIEW WITH ASHLEY HARKLEROAD
Ashley Harkleroad is currently ranked 65th in the world, although she has been as high as No. 39 in June 2003. Considering she’s 23 and pushed Maria Sharapova in a tough match at the 2006 Australian Open, her best days could still be ahead of her (currently, she hasn’t advanced past the third round of a major). While her career winnings to date total nearly a million dollars, there’s one thing every tennis fan (and non-fan) wants to discuss: she’s the August 2008 cover girl for Playboy (on newsstands Friday). We caught up with Harkleroad via phone to talk career, posing nude, the reaction and to settle this Federer vs. Nadal thing once and for all. Bonus: for a look at the cover of the August 2008 issue, go right here.
The Mag: We’ll get to Playboy in a second. What’s the toughest match you’ve ever been in?
Harkleroad: Probably against Dinara Safina a few months ago.
Overall, who’s the toughest opponent and why?
Either of the Williams sisters at this point. They’re like 6-3, 170. I’m out there like 5-6, 130. It’s pretty tough.
What do you love about tennis; what keeps you going during the weekly grind?
That’s a good question, since I lost last night. So right now? Not a whole lot. (laughs) I enjoy competing, but I like to win; there’s no better feeling than winning. Also, I have to think it’s better than having a “real job.”
We’ll turn to Playboy now. What happened with the offer? How did you decide to pose?
My boyfriend and my agents negotiated the deal for me. It’s something entirely different than playing tennis, and I enjoy being in front of a camera. It’s just a different avenue and I wanted to see where it could take me, so I accepted it.
What do you think are the advantages of it?
I’m not sure yet. I’m just going to have to see where it can take me. I really do enjoy being in front of a camera, though, so I’d like to do more photo shoots and the like.
You’re from Georgia. What are people back there saying about this?
You know the South—it’s the Bible Belt. People were definitely a little shocked, but the reaction has been positive overall. That’s good for me, because I didn’t want to deal with disappointing anyone (laughs).
What about the girls on the tour?
I think they understand what I was doing; I haven’t heard any negative feedback from them.
You’ve talked about enjoying being in front of the camera. How was the shoot itself?
I’m not a very modest person, so I was really feeling it. I was having a good time and trying to feel sexy in my own body; I think it worked. The pictures and the layout came out very classy. Playboy is a very classy operation all around. It was important to me, because I’m representing an athlete and her body, so I wanted it to come out showcasing that.
Gotta ask: if you saw your boyfriend with a Playboy, would that annoy you? They have tremendous articles, you know.
He doesn’t read it. If he did, though, I wouldn’t be bothered by it. I don’t tend to get jealous in that way. If you need to have fun, go have fun, you know? (laughs)
Quick hitters now. Who’s the most attractive girl in WTA?
ME!
Serious?
(laughs) No, no. It’s a tough question. I’d have to say Ana Ivanovic, though.
What song do you listen to right before a match?
I don’t always listen to music before, but I like everything. You can’t go wrong with Jay Z or Akon; I’m obsessed with Akon right now, because I just saw a TV special on him. I also really love Taylor Swift.
Who’s the best female tennis player ever?
Right now, I’d have to say Serena if I was picking one. You go back 10-15 years, you’d probably say Steffi Graf. It’s hard to say all-time because it depends on the era you’re discussing; the game changes a lot.
And finally, who’s hotter: Federer or Nadal?
That’s another tough one. I’ve never been a huge fan of Nadal looks-wise; I’d probably go with Federer. The other thing with Federer is, he’s so nice. He always—OK, maybe not always—talks to me when we’re at an event. Last spring I had ovarian cyst surgery, and he was so sweet to me when he saw me, asking me how everything was. He’s a great guy and yea, a little better looking than Nadal.
Ashley Harkleroad
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