CAMILA GIORGI ‘RETIREMENT’ CAUSES CONFUSION AS WILD RUMOURS SWIRL

Italian tennis star Camila Giorgi appears to have suddenly decided to retire from tennis, with confirmation coming on the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) website.

No official announcement has been made by the 32-year-old star, with eagle-eyed observers spotting Giorgi’s name on the list of retired players, with her name added on May 7.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency has been set up to safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide, as they oversee the doping programme that governs the game.

The ITIA has recently been involved in a high-profile case involving former world No 1 Simona Halep, who was given permission to continue her career after a lengthy doping ban was reduced.

What looks set to be Giorgi’s last match as a professional came with a heavy defeat against world No 1 Iga Swiatek at the Miami Open in March, with her absence from the court since then something of a mystery.

The Italian has reached a career-high of No 26 in the WTA rankings and reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2018.

She also won the 2021 Canadian Open title, one of the WTA’s most prestigious tournaments, to claim the biggest title of her career.

Her Instagram page is one of the most followed in tennis, with 726k followers highlighting her popularity with admirers outside of the tennis family.

Most of the images she posts are related to her passion for fashion, with some revealing images attracting a different audience.

READ MORE: Camila Giorgi wows her fans with more revealing photos on Instagram

Giorgi wears the Giomila clothes made by her mother’s company when she is on court and her Instagram account has become the platform to display her fashion shoots.

Her mother Claudia Fullone has always been keen to take her love of stylish clothes onto the court and that has helped her to attract a huge following of fans around the world.

Some in the tennis community have suggested Giorgi should focus on tennis and put her fashion shoots on hold while she was still playing the sport, but she revealed that this is the way she likes to relax away from tennis in an interview last year.

“Fashion has always been my great passion,” she said. “I like sports a lot, but I like fashion more. An obsession that 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 may have been expected to play in this week’s Italian Open before calling time on her career, but there will be some questions about the reasons for her sudden decision to walk away from the game until she makes an official announcement.

Her huge social media audience and passion for fashion means Giorgi will walk into a new career as an Influencer if she opts to make her retirement from tennis permanent, with her most recent image on Instagram making no reference to her decision to end her time on court.

2024-05-08T20:19:13Z dg43tfdfdgfd