Ashley Harkleroad is an American tennis player, she was born May 2, 1985 in Roseville, Georgia, to tennis fan parents. The road to tennis stardom began for Ashley Harkleroad at the age of 4 when her father began to take her out to the court. Harkleroad reached a career-high ranking of No. 39 on June 9, 2003. She is currently ranked 91 in singles and 168 in doubles, as well as 68 in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships.Harkleroad started playing tennis at age four. She is currently coached by Chuck Adams and formerly coached by José Luis Clerc and Jay Berger. Her father, Danny, works in the printing industry and played college football at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Her mother, Tammy, is a school teacher, and played college tennis at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee. Ashley got the nickname 'Pebbles' while living in Flintstone, Georgia, a small town that has one traffic light. She lists her tennis aspiration as becoming a Top 10 pro with an eye on No.1
Ashley Harkleroad 2004 season was a bit slow and, in '05 she took a break from tennis due to injuries. However, in '05 she returned with a vengeance, competing and almost beating Maria Sharapova. She had a top 100 finish in Singles in 2006 and a top 60 finish in Doubles.
In 2007, Ashley Harkelroad went to the Hopman Cup after Venus Williams dropped out of the competition. However, she only ranked at No. 67 by the end of that tennis season.
2008 was a great year for Ashley Harkelroad, not because she played tennis exceptionally well , but because Ashley Harkleroad officially announced she'd be posing in Playboy magazine.