Agnieszka Radwanska tells Reuters that she was upset about the reaction in her native Poland to her decision to pose nude for ESPN the Body Issue.
Priests and a Catholic youth group denounced her for being immoral.
“I was little disappointed,” Radwanska said. “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.”
Last weekend, Radwanska defended her decision to pose for the magazine in a Facebook post because, she said, she didn't think people understood the magazine celebrated athletes' bodies and encouraged a healthy lifestyle.
Radwanska also said that she blew an opportunity to win her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon when she fell to Sabine Lisicki, 6-4, 2-6, 9-7 in the semifinals. She was the highest seed left in the draw.
“It was a huge chance this year,” Radwanska said. "Definitely I had a chance to win a Grand Slam.”
The fourth-ranked Radwanska, who reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Roland Garros earlier this year, also told TENNIS.com that wants to at least match that result at next month's U.S. Open. She has never reached the final eight in New York and last year was disappointed by her play in a 6-1, 6-4 fourth-round loss to Roberta Vinci.
Radwanska told TENNIS.com she believes she is capable of winning her first Grand Slam title in New York.
“Wimbledon this year shows you never know what’s going happen, and I still like hard courts,” she said. “If I can win Miami, I can win the U.S. Open as well.”