Stanford: Poland`s Agnieszka Radwanska is upset and surprised about the negative reaction in her home country after posing nude for a sports magazine.
The world number four, who was photographed naked while sitting beside a swimming pool filled with tennis balls, came under fire in her largely Catholic country with priests and a Catholic youth group calling her behaviour immoral.
"I was little disappointed," Radwanska said at the Bank of the West Classic where she is the top seed.
"I was really surprised about everything that happened afterward. The Catholics reacted like I did a photo shoot for a men`s magazine. I was surprised because they didn`t even know what I exactly the photo shoot was."
Radwanska, whose arms and positioning in the photo cover her private areas, is one of 21 athletes that appear nude in the annual issue that showcases the physiques of athletes, including a cover photo of 77-year-old golfer Gary Player.
Three days ago, Radwanska took to Facebook to defend herself. She said she made the decision because "the press and subject in Poland was huge. It was just to show the people what the magazine actually was."
On Facebook, Radwanska said that the pictures were not meant to cause offense and that "to brand them as immoral clearly does not take into account the context of the magazine.”
"Moreover, they do not contain any explicit imagery whatsoever. I train extremely hard to keep my body in shape and that`s what the article and the magazine is all about.”
"I agreed to participate to help encourage young people, and especially girls, to exercise, stay in shape and be healthy."
The 24-year-old Radwanska added that she is no longer reeling from her defeat to Germany`s Sabine Lisicki in the Wimbledon semi-final in early July.
The Pole was the highest seed remaining in the tournament at that point and, had she won the match, would have faced eventual champion Marion Bartoli in the final, whom she owns a 7-0 record against.
Radwanska, who has yet to win a grand slam, said she grew exhausted late in the match because she had played three marathon matches prior to the semi-finals.
"It was a huge chance this year," she said.
“Definitely I had a chance to win a grand slam.”
"It`s always disappointing and of course I was sad that I didn`t use the opportunity that I had but I wasn`t 100 percent fit. I wanted to get to the balls and my legs were just staying in one spot. I couldn`t really move."
Reuters
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.