Camila Giorgi might not be the most popular name in the tennis world. However, the story of her disappearance from the WTA Tour has left fans baffled. Almost six years after the Italian received a lot of backlash for her questionable comments regarding Serena Williams, it is now discovered that the former World No.26 has quit tennis to pursue her goal of becoming a fashion model.
In a shocking turn of events, the 5 ft 6” Macerata native has “disappeared” following her Miami Open 2024 loss against Iga Swiatek. The 116th-ranked player, per WTA, has not played for the past few months. According to The Express UK, after authorities couldn’t get hold of her, Giorgi was listed as “retired” by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
Instead, the 32-year-old now works as a lingerie model. She is often seen promoting “Giomila”, displaying a wide range of products to the 738,000 people who follow her on Instagram.
Camila didn’t have a memorable career. However, a few incidents over the years surely caught the attention of the tennis community. One of these infamous moments occurred in 2018.
Ahead of her Wimbledon quarter-final encounter against Serena Williams, Giorgi made it to the news by stating that she didn’t watch or follow women’s tennis. She gave that reply after being asked to talk about Williams, one of the most iconic players of all time in the sport.
It was a clear insult to the American. Giorgi was quoted as saying –
“I don’t follow tennis, woman tennis, and I don’t follow tennis. But I think is going to be a good match.”
Camila Giorgi on what she likes most about Serena Williams’ game: “I don’t follow women’s tennis. I don’t follow tennis.” She didn’t smile when saying it.
— Svenja Mastroberardino (@svenja_mastro) July 9, 2018
Williams must have been fired up by those comments as she went on to defeat Camila 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The Italian was also sentenced to a brutal 3-6, 2-6 loss in the hands of Serena at the ASB Classic in 2020 to improve to a 5-0 head-to-head record.
Camila Giorgi played in an era when women’s tennis was dominated by the likes of Serena, Maria Sharapova, and Victoria Azarenka, among others. Despite going up against some of the greatest ever, Giorgi managed to win 4 titles and $6.4 million in career earnings.
However, the Italian would go down as one of the most controversial players of all-time. According to Tennis.com, Giorgi has escaped with her family to the United States because of tax evasion in Italy.
Camila Giorgi and COVID Vaccination Controversy Before Australian Open 2022
Camila Giorgi found herself to be in the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2022. During the Australian Open 2022, the Italian was accused of submitting a fake COVID vaccination certificate, allowing her to travel.
However, Giorgi denied such allegations and her father too lashed out at the Australian authorities. It was similar to what Novak Djokovic was accused of before that tournament, the only difference being that he was deported eventually.
“I just did all my vaccination in different places, so the trouble is hers, not me,” she said, per ESPN. “So with that, I’m very calm. Of course, if not, I couldn’t come here and play this tennis, I think.”
While Giorgi was allowed to participate, she ended up suffering a third round 2-6, 3-6 loss against the eventual champ Ashleigh Barty.
