Tennis Star Ashley Harkleroad Does Playboy Photo Shoot

Posted on: May 26th, 2008 by: Meg

Ashley Harkleroad turned pro at age 15 and was quickly billed as the next American tennis superstar. Her career earnings are nearly a million dollars to date. She recently lost to Serena Williams at the French Open and in an exit interview with reporters, she shared the fact that she will soon be gracing the pages of Playboy magazine.

The Georgia born athlete posed for Playboy while she was recovering from surgery earlier this year. She told reporters that she is the first tennis player to appear in the magazine. You can check out Ashley in the August issue which hits newsstands on July 13.

The 23-year-old noted other athletes who have appeared in the magazine, including Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard and former volleyball player Gabrielle Reese. She told reporters:

I’ll be the first tennis player ever. That’s kind of cool. There’s a few reasons why I did it, but I can’t really go into it right now, but like I said, I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I’m proud of my body. I stay in shape and try to stay fit.”

Check out more photos below.