Camila Giorgi makes a surprise return to tennis after her mysterious retirement.
Camila Giorgi’s exit from tennis last year came as something of a surprise and now the Italian has made a return to the sport in a very different role.
Italian glamour girl Giorgi quit tennis without ceremony last May, as her exit from the sport was confirmed when her name appeared on a list of former players posted by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
There was no formal announcement of her retirement and plenty of debate over the manner and timing of her exit, amid wild allegations in the Italian media speculating on why she had walked away from the game.
The winner of the 2021 Canadian Open, a prestigious WTA 1000 tournament, denied stories that difficulties with Italian tax authorities were the reason for her exit from the sport.
“The problems with the tax authorities? My family did not know about them, they were created by outside people who managed me and did this as a job,” said former world No 26 Giorgi in an interview with with Italian broadcaster Verissimo.
“My father did not earn a living doing this, he was just my trainer. We were never afraid, we changed the people who managed us and now we are in order.
“I did not expect this. Many misconceptions have been created. They always put my father’s name in the middle, it is not always his fault – he has no business being here.
“We did not flee for tax reasons. I never fled, I never spoke. We did not pay the rent and we took the furniture? The house had no furniture, we brought it ourselves.”
Now Giorgi has taken her first steps back into tennis since that rapid retirement, as she is working at this week’s Argentina Open in Buenos Aires.
She has posted images and videos of her interviewing the stars taking part in the tournament on her Instagram account which has almost 710k followers.
The fans on her Instagram account have been given regular updates by Giorgi since she called him on her tennis career, with many of her admirers following her account thanks to her glamorous and often revealing photo shoots as she embraces her love of fashion.
“Fashion has always been my great passion,” she said in an interview in 2022. “I like sports a lot, but I like fashion more. This obsession has been passed on to me since I was a child.
“There is no need to justify anything, I would like to say; I am dealing with a professional photographer who knows how to do his job. I like everything and it gratifies me.
“My mom always tells me as long as you can show your body take advantage because afterwards you can’t do it!”
Giorgi’s big social media following and her connections to tennis will be an attractive combination for tournament officials looking to get a genuine tennis influencer to shine a light on their tournament.
So we may be seeing more of Camila Giorgi the courtside interviewer in the months and years to come.