American tennis player Ashley Harkleroad has announced that she has posed for Playboy.
The blonde 22-year-old, who was knocked out of the French Open in Roland Garros on Sunday, has endured a mediocre career on the women's tour and sits at 61 in the world.
She revealed she had agreed to the photoshoot with Playboy while she lay in a hospital bed recovering from surgery to remove a cyst on her ovaries.
Harkleroad believes she is the first tennis player to pose for the magazine and follows American swimmer Amanda Beard in baring all for the cameras.
‘I was just lying there in hospital for three weeks, and an offer came to me. I thought about it and it was something that I did. I'm proud of my body,’ said the Florida native whose pictures will appear in the August edition.
‘I stay in shape and try to stay fit. I'm just trying to represent a female athlete and her body. That can be sexy too. It's no big deal.’
