Tennis star announces comeback after fleeing country and suddenly retiring | Tennis | Sport
Italy’s Camila Giorgi has announced her return to professional tennis following a hasty retirement in 2024. The former world No. 26 was suddenly listed as a retired player on the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) website in May 2024, removing herself from anti-doping testing protocols required to play professional tennis. But she did not announce her retirement herself.
Things took a turn when the WTA also said they had been unable to get hold of Giorgi, and around this time, Italian media reported that she had fled her home country of Italy to the United States, as financial authorities sought to question her over gaps in her tax returns. She later denied accusations of tax fraud.
A few days later, the former Wimbledon quarter-finalist released a statement confirming her retirement and calling out “inaccurate rumours about [her] future plans”. Giorgi and her father Sergio were also accused of stealing furniture from an Italian villa and leaving without paying six months of rent.
In October 2024, she appeared on Italian TV programme Verissimo, denying all accusations of tax fraud and theft. Giorgi said: “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.”
Giorgi has since been enjoying life in retirement, and is no longer living in Italy. She remained involved in tennis and interviewed some tennis players on behalf of IEB+ at last year’s ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires. The 34-year-old also recently announced the launch of her own tennis camps.
Away from the courts, the former Canadian Open champion also married former Argentine tennis player and coach Andrea Pasutti, and they are expecting their first child, a boy. According to her Instagram bio, Giorgi and her husband reside in Mallorca.
But the 34-year-old is now planning to return to the WTA Tour in 2027, confirming the news during an Instagram Q&A on Tuesday. One fan asked: “Will you come back to tournament tennis in the future?” Giorgi replied: “Yes in 2027”.
She continued to answer questions about her impending comeback during the Q&A. Asked if she was making a comeback, Giorgi said: “Yes, next year.” She also wrote: “Now I’m a coach, but I’m training for 2027.”
Quizzed over which tournaments she would play in 2027, the former world No. 26 added: “I still don’t know.”
Giorgi’s last match came in March 2024, when she lost to Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open. A few weeks later, her retirement was listed on the ITIA’s website.
