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Ashley HarkleroadAmerican tennis player
Date of Birth: 02.05.1985
Country:  USA |
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Biography of Ashley Harkleroad
Early Life and CareerAshley Harkleroad, an American tennis player, was born on May 2, 1985, in Rossville, Georgia. She started playing tennis at the age of four and was coached by Jose Luis Clerc and Jay Berger. Currently, she is trained by Chuck Adams. Her father, Danny, worked in the printing industry and played American football at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her mother, Tammy, was a school teacher and played tennis at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee.
Harkleroad turned professional on June 12, 2000, and quickly established herself as a rising star in American tennis. She made her debut on the ITF circuit in Largo, Florida, in 1999, and the following year played her first WTA qualifying competition in Miami, Florida. She also appeared in her first Grand Slam tournament, the US Open, that same year. In 2002, Harkleroad showed great promise, reaching the semifinals in doubles at the Bratislava tournament with partner Maria Emilia Salerni. By the end of the year, she had entered the Top 200 rankings for the first time in her career.
Breakthrough and Success
The year 2003 proved to be a breakthrough for Harkleroad as she defeated three players from the Top 20. She reached the semifinals of a WTA tournament, where she lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne. This performance propelled her to 56th place in the rankings. She also reached the semifinals of the Strasbourg tournament and the doubles final at the Japan Open in Tokyo. On June 9, 2003, she achieved her career-high ranking of 39th in the world.
In 2004, Harkleroad reached the final of a WTA tournament in Auckland before losing to champion Eleni Daniilidou. However, most of her 2005 season was plagued by injuries and family illnesses, which limited her time on the court. From 2006 onwards, Harkleroad's ranking began to decline, with 39th place remaining her best career ranking.
Later Career and Personal Life
Harkleroad started the 2007 WTA season in Hobart, Tasmania, where she lost in the first round to Sybille Bammer. She reached the second round of the French Open, where she was defeated by Venus Williams, and was also eliminated in the US Open by Ioana Raluca Olaru. She ended 2007 ranked 76th, winning the Challenger tournaments in Pittsburgh and La Quinta.
In 2008, Harkleroad defeated three Top 100 players in Hobart before losing to Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals. At the Australian Open, she was defeated by Virginie Razzano. She reached the final of the ITF tournament in Midland but fell short against Laura Granville. During the Sony Ericsson Open, Harkleroad experienced a ruptured cyst in her ovary and had to undergo surgery, resulting in the loss of one of her ovaries.
After the French Open and Wimbledon in 2008, Harkleroad went on maternity leave. She gave birth to a son named Charlie on March 30, 2009, and a daughter named Loretta Lynn on April 4, 2011. Harkleroad was previously married to tennis player Alex Bogomolov, Jr. from December 2004 to October 2006. She is currently married to Chuck Adams, a former ATP tennis player. Both of her children are from her marriage to Adams.
Ashley became known for being the first WTA tennis player to pose nude for Playboy magazine.
