Asia Muhammad, 17, made her professional debut last week at the U.S. Open with a pink tennis racquet adorned with diamonds, created by Michael E. Minden Diamond Jewelers of Las Vegas.

“I’ve known and watched Asia develop for several years now,” said Michael E. Minden, owner of Michael E. Minden Diamond Jewelers in Las Vegas. “We are all so proud that she is representing Vegas and wanted to mark this very special occasion with something that has never been done before; so, as a special gift, we custom fitted her racquet with 1 cts. of VS quality pave set diamonds in 2 letter A’s above her grip.”

Muhammad, a Las Vegas resident, is a product of Andre Agassi’s Las Vegas Academy and has been consistently ranked in the top 10 throughout her junior career.

“This is the first time I’ve actually put Diamonds on a piece of athletic equipment,” notes Minden. “However, we came up with a special process to affix it to the racquet, with a special technology to transfer the letters to a new racquet, when Asia wears out the first one. The same Diamonds can be added to a golf club, and makes a very exclusive gift for any exceptional athlete in most any sport.”

Each letter retails for $1,750 and includes installation.

Muhammad, who qualified for the U.S. Open as a wild card, lost her first round match to Aravane Rezai, a French player of Iranian descent. But this is only the beginning of what promises to be an exceptional tennis career.

JCK