Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska is upset and surprised about the negative reaction in her home country after posing nude for ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue."

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 behavior immoral.

"I was little disappointed," Radwanska, 24, said at the Bank of the West Classic in California 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 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 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."

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