Tennis ace and lingerie mannequin ‘flees nation’ after mysterious retirement
Tennis star Camila Giorgi who suddenly quit the sport without any explanation has left Italy amid a tax dispute and an impending court case, according to a report.
Giorgi stunned fans this week when she was listed on the International Tennis Integrity Agency website as retired. The Italian, who once reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, has won four titles on the Women’s Tennis Association circuit, yet made no official statement about her decision.
It was suggested the 32-year-old had quit tennis to concentrate on her burgeoning career as a lingerie model. Giorgi regularly posts racy snaps to more than 730,000 followers on Instagram and has her own fashion brand, Giomila.
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But according to La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy, the investigations of the Florence Prosecutor’s Office are reporting Giorgi and her family have a number of gaps in their taxes. It reports that Giorgi has left Italy for the United States since abruptly quitting tennis.
Her dad and ex-coach Sergio, who is Argentinian, her mother, Claudia, and her brothers, Leandro and Amadeus, are also alleged to have issues with the tax authorities. Giorgi has previously faced criticism over accusations that she used a bogus Covid vaccination certificate to get into the Australian Open in 2022.
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(Image: AP)
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She and her father vehemently denied these claims. However, Gazzetta reports that she is scheduled to appear before an investigating judge in Vicenza on July 16 for the first preliminary hearing of the investigation into the accusations.
The Vicenza Prosecutor’s Office have reportedly requested the indictment of Giorgi, as well as 20 other suspects including Italian singer Madame and doctor Erich Volker Goepel. It came after Italian doctor Daniela Grillone, who had been under investigation by authorities for allegedly delivering fake Covid-19 vaccinations to patients, alleged Giorgi had not received the jab, despite her featuring in the second round.
Proof of a Covid vaccination was a requirement for entry into the country. Men’s tennis legend Novak Djokovic was infamously deported from Australia in the same year after refusing to take the jab.
(Image: Instagram / @camila_giorgi_official)
(Image: camila_giorgi_official/Instagram)
At the time, Giorgi said: “I did everything what they ask, the Australian government. Each year we are fine with that. Of course. I did all vaccination, yes.”
Giorgi explained that she received one vaccination with Grillone and completed the rest of her requirements with other medical practitioners. “The doctor has been investigate [sic], and she had troubles in this year with the law a few times,” Giorgi said.
“I just did all my vaccination in different places. So the trouble is hers. Not me. So with that, I’m very calm.”
(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: @camila_giorgi_official/Instagram)
Giorgi didn’t enter the French Open, which is set to start later this month in Paris, meaning her last match was against Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open in March. She was defeated 6-1, 6-1 in the Round of 64 on that occasion.
Her standout result is her quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon back in 2018 – where she was dumped out by Serena Williams 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 – achieving a career-high world ranking of 26 that year. Giorgi would also reach the quarter-finals of the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.
