Relatively unknown tennis player Ashley Harkleroad has taken time off from the courts to take her clothes off for Playboy magazine – but we’re curious: where’s she going to keep her tennis balls?

After finding herself sidelined to recover from surgery to remove an ovarian cyst, the 23-year-old athlete decided to follow up on an offer to do a photo shoot with the notorious nudey mag, thinking it would fill in the time and give her the chance to celebrate a different type of female form than the magazine normally represents.

“I’m proud of my body,” Harkleroad stated, later adding, “I stay in shape and try to stay fit, so like I said, I’m just trying to represent a female athlete and her body. That can be sexy too, you know.”

Although tennis player Maria Sharapova has been sneered at for spending more time in front of a photographer’s lens than in perfecting her game, Harkleroad’s photo shoot is actually going over well with at least some of her fellow athletes.

After besting her on the courts, champ Serena Williams had only nice things to say of Harkleroad and her decision to pose nude.

“I’m just surprised she beat me to it,” the tennis star/ occasional actress and model said in joking, but added in seriousness, “I’m happy for her if that’s what she wanted to do. It takes a lot of courage.”

Although Harkleroad’s the first tennis player to strip down for the magazine, she’s certainly not the first athlete to grace the pages – American swimmer Amanda Beard and volleyball player Gabrielle Reece have both had their time in the spotlight.

And don’t forget soccer streaker Tiffany May, who recently landed herself a Playboy deal. She may not be a professional athlete, but she sure can run!

Could this be a sign of changing times in Playboy magazine? A switch from perfect, curvaceous, vapid beauties to toned and fit athletes who know how to balance sexiness with strength? Hey, whatever it is, we’ll take it. Just as long as it’s not the Olsen twins!