Fame does not faze Harkleroad; Rising tennis star wins first-round match at Boar’s Head tournament
By JOHN GALINSKY
Daily Progress staff writer
She was on the back cover of Glamour magazine. She has an apparel contract with
Nike and a racket deal with Babolet. She will have a small role in an upcoming
movie. There are several fan web sites devoted to her. Endorsement and modeling
offers roll in. For Ashley Harkleroad, is all that enough to make her forget
what is supposed to be most important? “Tennis is my top priority, but I
like to do a lot of other things, too,” said America’s latest teen tennis
sensation. “It’s fun. My agent wants me to take it slow because it can get to
your head or whatever.”
Harkleroad, who turned 17 two weeks ago, is the eighth seed but the most
recognizable name in the Boar’s Head $25K USTA Women’s Pro Tennis Championships.
She won her first-round match over Courtenay Chapman, 6-4, 6-1, on Wednesday and
will face Jelena Jankovic in the second round today at the Boar’s Head Sports
Club.
Harkleroad has been America’s top junior player for several
years, but she really burst onto the scene at the 2001 U.S. Open. The youngest
player to make the main draw, she lost in the first round. But her outfit — a
midriff-baring top and tight shorts, compliments of Nike — gained her attention
and a measure of fame she did not expect.
“I was surprised because four other girls were wearing the
same outfit,” she said with a shrug, adding she has no regrets. “I’m young, you
know? I’m proud of being fit. I liked what I was wearing and that’s all that
matters, I guess.”
At times, Harkleroad looks and sounds like another tennis
hottie, Anna Kournikova — a comparison that Harkleroad finds flattering. The
knock on Kournikova, who has never won a WTA event and whose ranking has slipped
to No. 68, is that her tennis has taken a backseat to her celebrity. Harkleroad,
who is ranked No. 284, says she will not lose focus in the midst of the
marketing machine.
“I care more about my tennis than anything,” she said. “I’m a
big perfectionist and I care very much about my tennis. If that goes well,
everything else will come. I don’t worry about all that other stuff.
“Really, not that many people know me right now. It will get more and more as I
get older and as I do better. It’s coming slowly but surely, and that’s probably
the best way for it to go for me.”
She has been a tennis prodigy for a long time. Raised in
Flintstone, Ga. — hence her nickname, “Pebbles” — Harkleroad dominated the USTA
girls’ circuit and turned pro days after her 15th birthday. She signed with
Artist Management Group and swiftly landed a deal with Nike. Recently, she has
been featured in Nike advertisements in Glamour, Vogue and Sports Illustrated
for Women. Tommy Hilfiger approached Harkleroad about modeling a new line
of jeans, but she had to decline because of her Nike contract. Still, fresh
opportunities have arisen ever since her U.S. Open appearance. Later this summer
she will shoot scenes for a movie starring Reese Witherspoon. (She will play —
no big stretch — a tennis player.)
“I’m supposed to go to Europe for 10 days to do something for
a billboard. I’m not sure exactly what that is,” she said. “My agent doesn’t
tell me because she doesn’t like me to think about it. So if I go, she’ll tell
me the week before.” To Harkleroad, off-court opportunities aren’t
distractions. They’re attractions. They make her want to be a great player.
“As time goes on, there are going to be more and more things I can do as long as
I keep getting better,” she said. “I know I need to work on my game and
work on improving. My serve needs to get a little more powerful. I need to work
on different shots and mixing it up a lot more. I need to get stronger. ... By
the end of November, I’d like to be in the top 140, 150. Long term, I’d like to
be top 10, if not better.”
Toward that end, Harkleroad hired former Argentine tennis
great Jose Luis Clerc as her coach several weeks ago. Clerc says Harkleroad has
the potential to be a top-10 player within a year. “She’s very special.
She’s a hard worker — she will practice six hours every day without saying
anything,” Clerc said. “She has unbelievable timing when she hits the ball.
She’s very, very strong. She hits everything hard, deep and heavy. That’s what
you have to do to be in the top 10.” Harkleroad flashed killer groundstrokes and
a mean two-fisted backhand Wednesday in her victory over Chapman. She won nine
of the last 10 games after a 4-4 start in the first set. “I wasn’t worried,” she
said. “I just needed to move my feet more.”
A sizable crowd, including a group of teenage boys, gathered
at Court 3 to watch her match. Harkleroad says she loves playing in front of big
crowds. If large-scale fame comes, she will welcome it. Even now, she is more
famous than many players with higher rankings. Erika de Lone, the top-seeded
player in the event, said she does not resent the attention and endorsements
that Harkleroad receives. “It’s great to see a young U.S. player do well,”
de Lone said. “She’s an exciting young player with a great future ahead of her.
She’s fun to watch.”
Harkleroad has a number of titles to her credit, including the 2001 Wimbledon junior doubles crown with Argentina’s Gisela Dulko. She has not won a USTA Challenger tour singles championship, though she reached the final of an event at Sea Island, Ga., last week. The future is bright for Harkleroad as long as she doesn’t get blinded by the spotlight. Clerc, for one, does not believe that will happen. “She’s very, very smart that way. She’s famous in tennis — most everybody knows Ashley today,” Clerc said. “But what I see from Ashley is she has both feet on the ground. I think that’s very important. She wakes up every morning and she likes to learn how to play better tennis every day.”