 Harkleroad playing withWorld TeamTennis, 2007 | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Born | (1985-05-02)May 2, 1985 (age 40) Rossville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Turned pro | 2000 |
| Retired | 2012 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | US$ 1,022,094 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 213–140 |
| Career titles | 8ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 39 (June 9, 2003) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2007) |
| French Open | 3R (2003) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2006) |
| US Open | 2R (2003) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 96–77 |
| Career titles | 5 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 39 (January 27, 2007) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (2007) |
| French Open | QF (2008) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2006) |
| US Open | 3R (2002,2006) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2003) |
| US Open | QF (2007) |
Ashley Harkleroad Adams (born May 2, 1985) is an American former professionaltennis player. She reached a career-high ranking in singles of 39 in June 2003.
Raised in Chickamauga, Georgia (near Chattanooga, Tennessee), Harkleroad graduated fromChattanooga Christian School[1] and turned professional on June 12, 2000, after she turned 15 years old. Her debut was at the ITF tournament in Largo, Florida, in 1999. The following year, she played her firstWTA Tour qualifying event inMiami, Florida and her first Grand Slam tournament at theUS Open. In 2001, she returned to the same events while improving her status on theITF Women's Circuit. In 2002, she won her first matches, reaching the second round at San Diego, Hawaii, and Bratislava, where she made her first doubles semifinal with partnerMaría Emilia Salerni. She ended 2002 in the top 200 for the first time in her career.[citation needed]
Her breakthrough year was 2003, when atCharleston Harkleroad defeated three top-20 players (No. 16Elena Bovina, No. 19Meghann Shaughnessy, and No. 9Daniela Hantuchová), losing just eleven games along the way to reach her first semifinal, before losing toJustine Henin-Hardenne. She became the lowest-ranked semifinalist (No. 101) in the event's history since unrankedJennifer Capriati reached the finals in 1990.[citation needed]
With that performance, Harkleroad climbed from No. 101 to No. 56. She then reached the semifinals again at Strasbourg and scored her second top-10 win and second over Daniela Hantuchová atRoland Garros while reaching the third round. It was the second time she had passed the first round at a Grand Slam event. On June 9, 2003, she entered the top 50 at No. 39 and reached the final in doubles at theJapan Open in Tokyo.[citation needed]
In 2004, Harkleroad made her career first tour final inAuckland, losing to defending championEleni Daniilidou.[2] 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 circuit, winning two titles. She did, however, reach a tour doubles final atQuebec City.[citation needed]
Harkleroad played her second main-tour event since 2005 at Auckland, qualifying for the main draw, only to fall in the opening round. She failed to qualify atSydney, before reaching the second round of theAustralian Open (as a qualifier), where she pushed world No. 4Maria Sharapova in a tough match. On her way, she upset a higher-ranked opponent,Peng Shuai of China. This performance saw Harkleroad break back into the top 100 at No. 83. Harkleroad ended 2006 at No. 86 in singles and No. 55 in doubles.[citation needed]
Harkleroad was selected for the US team in theHopman Cup afterVenus Williams withdrew. She and partnerMardy Fish went 0–3 in the event. Harkleroad pushedTatiana Golovin to three sets, before losing the match. Harkleroad lost toNadia Petrova and toAlicia Molik. She started out the main WTA Tour season in Hobart, Tasmania. She lost in the first round to AustrianSybille Bammer. Bammer eventually defeatedSerena Williams in the quarterfinals. She lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the third round of theAustralian Open. In the previous rounds, she beatMeng Yuan of China, and upset 17th seeded GermanAnna-Lena Grönefeld.
Harkleroad struggled in the clay-court season and finished in the second round atRoland Garros, losing to Venus Williams. Harkleroad was down before rebounding and holding set points. During this match, Williams hit the fastest recorded women's main-draw serve,[3] a record which Venus broke during the following US Open.[4]
In the grass-court season, Harkleroad played the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament for the second straight year as herWimbledon warm-up. In 2006, she had lost in the final toCaroline Wozniacki. In 2007, however, she defeated Wozniacki in the final to win the event. But she lost toRoberta Vinci, a good grass-court player, in the first round of Wimbledon.[citation needed]
In theUS Open Series, Harkleroad failed to qualify at theAcura Classic, but qualified in Los Angeles and reached the second round, before falling to Roland Garros runner-upAna Ivanovic. At the US Open, Harkleroad fell toIoana Raluca Olaru. She then played in San Francisco, where she won $50k at theITF event for the second consecutive year. Harkleroad ended the season by winning a $75k tournament in Pittsburgh and a $50k event in La Quinta back to back. She ended the year ranked No. 76, her second-highest year-end to date. Harkleroad also won the doubles title in La Quinta withChristina Fusano, and finished the year with a 29–20 record in singles and a 13–11 record in doubles.[citation needed]
Starting the year off as usual in Auckland, Harkleroad reached the second round, defeating eighth seedÉmilie Loit, before losing to home-crowd wildcardMarina Erakovic. Harkleroad played in Hobart, after winning three matches to qualify. She defeated three top-100 players, before bowing out in the semifinals to top seedVera Zvonareva. In the Australian Open, Harkleroad lost to 30th seedVirginie Razzano.[citation needed]
Harkleroad debuted with theUnited States Fed Cup team just two weeks later. FacingGermany, Harkleroad,Lindsay Davenport,Laura Granville, andLisa Raymond made up the United States team. Davenport was upset in a tie, giving the Germans a 1–0 lead. Harkleroad crushedTatjana Malek andSabine Lisicki, both in straight sets to help the U.S. team win 4–1 and becoming the tie's hero.[citation needed]
Harkleroad then reached the final of the $75k event in Midland, where she was defeated by compatriot Laura Granville.[citation needed]
Harkleroad's next tournament was thePacific Life Open in Indian Wells. She upsetLucie Šafářová and eighth seedDinara Safina. She then lost toAgnieszka Radwańska in the fourth round in three sets. At theSony Ericsson Open, she reached the third round, after taking out the 23rd seedVirginie Razzano impressively, but lost toElena Vesnina. While at the Sony Ericsson Open, a large cyst on one of her ovaries burst, and she was sent to the hospital. She lost one of her ovaries amidst her recovery.[citation needed]
At theFrench Open, Harkleroad lost against tournament favorite Serena Williams in the first round.[5]
AtWimbledon, she lost against 2006 winnerAmélie Mauresmo in the first round.[citation needed]
After losing early in the US Open Series, Harkleroad withdrew from the US Open and Beijing Olympics, due to pregnancy. She took an indefinite break from tennis as a result. She gave birth on March 30, 2009 to a boy.[citation needed]
Harkleroad planned on originally coming back at theBNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, but decided to wait for theSony Ericsson Open in Miami. She used her special protection rank of 72 to enter the main draw. She playedAlicia Molik in the first round. She also was accepted into the main draw of theStanford Classic where she lost against defending championMarion Bartoli in the first round. She competed inWorld TeamTennis during the summer of 2010.[citation needed]
In 2012, Harkleroad retired from professional tennis and joinedTennis Channel as a commentator.[6]
In 1989, at the age of four years, Harkleroad started playing tennis.[7]She was formerly coached byChuck Adams,José Luis Clerc, andJay Berger. Her father, Danny, works in the printing industry and played college football at theUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her mother, Tammy, is a school teacher, and played college tennis atFreed-Hardeman University inHenderson, Tennessee. Harkleroad got the nickname 'Pebbles' while living inFlintstone, Georgia.Harkleroad married ATP proAlex Bogomolov, Jr. in December 2004, and they divorced in October 2006.[7] She is now married to former ATP proChuck Adams. During US Open coverage on the U.S. network on August 29, 2008, commentatorJohn McEnroe announced that Harkleroad was pregnant with Adams's child. She gave birth to a son on March 30, 2009.[8] On April 4, 2011, she gave birth to a daughter.[9]
In 2022 Harkleroad joined theOnlyfans platform.[10] Her account has since been deleted.
Following the 2008French Open, Harkleroad told reporters she would appear in the August 2008 issue ofPlayboy, a decision she made while convalescing fromovarian cyst surgery in March 2008. In an on-the-air interview, broadcast during the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, Harkleroad stated that swimmerAmanda Beard's 2007 pictorial was partly an inspiration for hers.[11]
| Legend |
|---|
| Tier I (0–0) |
| Tier II (0–0) |
| Tier III (0–0) |
| Tier IV & V (0–1) |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | Jan 2004 | Auckland Open, New Zealand | Hard |  Eleni Daniilidou | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Legend |
|---|
| Tier I (0–0) |
| Tier II (0–0) |
| Tier III (0–2) |
| Tier IV & V (0–2) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | Sep 2003 | Japan Open | Tier III | Hard |  Ansley Cargill |  Maria Sharapova Tamarine Tanasugarn | 6–7(1–7), 0–6 |
| Loss | 2. | Nov 2005 | Tournoi de Québec, Canada | Tier III | Hard (i) |  Līga Dekmeijere | Anastasia RodionovaElena Vesnina | 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 3. | May 2006 | Prague Open, Czech Republic | Clay | Bethanie Mattek-Sands |  Marion Bartoli Shahar Pe'er | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 4. | May 2006 | Morocco Open | Clay | Bethanie Mattek-Sands |  Zheng JieYan Zi | 1–6, 3–6 |
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | 6 May 2001 | ITF Dothan, United States | 25,000 | Clay |  Irina Selyutina | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | 12 May 2002 | ITF Sea Island, United States | 25,000 | Clay |  Melinda Czink | 1–6, 7–5, 3–6 |
| Win | 1–2 | 7 July 2002 | ITF Los Gatos, United States | 50,000 | Hard | Tzipora Obziler | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 2–2 | 18 August 2002 | ITF Bronx, United States | 50,000 | Hard |  Magdaléna Rybáriková | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–3 | 22 September 2002 | ITF Columbus, United States | 75,000 | Hard | Lindsay Lee-Waters | 6–1, 1–6, 6–7(9) |
| Loss | 2–4 | 10 July 2005 | ITF College Park, United States | 50,000 | Hard | Camille Pin | 6–2, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 3–4 | 17 July 2005 | ITF Louisville, United States | 50,000 | Hard | Séverine Beltrame | 4–6, 7–5, 6–0 |
| Win | 4–4 | 7 August 2005 | ITF Washington, United States | 75,000 | Hard | Olga Puchkova | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 5–4 | 15 October 2006 | ITF San Francisco, United States | 50,000 | Hard |  Clarisa Fernández | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 6–4 | 14 October 2007 | ITF San Francisco, United States | 50,000 | Hard | Sunitha Rao | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 7–4 | 11 November 2007 | ITF Pittsburgh, United States | 75,000 | Hard (i) | Olga Puchkova | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 8–4 | 18 November 2007 | ITF La Quinta, United States | 50,000 | Hard |  Stéphanie Dubois | 6–3, 7–6(6) |
| Loss | 8–5 | 10 February 2008 | ITF Midland, United States | 75,000 | Hard (i) | Laura Granville | 1–6, 1–6 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | Q2 | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 1R | 3–4 |
| French Open | A | A | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 5–5 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1–6 |
| U.S. Open | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 1–6 |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 0–3 | 10–21 |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | QF | 1R | 3–4 |
| French Open | A | A | 1R | A | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 3–4 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | Q1 | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2–4 |
| US Open | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | A | 5–6 |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 13–18 |
