As you may or may not know, the most recent issue of Playboy is out today with semi-obscure tennis player Ashley Harkleroad in it.

While I have nothing against women posing nude (hey, it's their decision), this Playboy shoot does pretty much mark the end of her relevancy in tennis.

The funny thing is we were supposed to know Harkleroad for so much than just a nude photo shoot by 2008.

She originally broke on to the tour on June 12, 2000, and was quickly billed as the next American tennis superstar. Which, of course, meant she was destined to suck. She's never gotten out of the third round of a major and the highest ranking she ever got to was #39, and that was almost 4 years ago. So needless to say, her time, if she ever had one, has passed.

I don't know her purposes exactly for posing for Playboy, I mean she's said she's comfortable with her body (whatever, everyone who does this says that), but I'd have to think it's more than just that. She's probably come to the realization that she's never going to become what she was supposed to be, so rather than simply fade away, she'll go down in flames.

In some ways that's kind of sad, but by the same token, it's also only human. Most of us want to be remembered in some way, even if it's not for the best of reasons.

But enough of my eulogizing of her career. Here are the SFW versions of her Playboy pictures, and here's a site that'll take you to the NSFW versions.