Star breaks silence over claims she fled country due to tax evasion

A former tennis star has spoken out as rumours continue to swirl over why she fled to America after announcing her shock retirement.

A former tennis star has revealed why she left the sport amid claims she “ran away” due to tax evasion.

Camila Giorgi announced her retirement from the sport in May and moved to America, The Sun reports.

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Giorgi, 32, made her shock announcement amid claims she owed up to six months of rent at a villa in Calenzano, near Florence.

At the time it was suggested that she was trying to evade tax authorities, which she has denied.

The Italian has now been accused of fleeing from her owed rent by the disgruntled landlord of the villa.

They claim that she removed “half the furniture” from the villa, including rugs and antique tables.

Camila opened up on the rumours.

She last played at the Miami Open. (Photo by Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)

The former world No.26 has now given her own version of what happened in a TV interview.

“Did I suddenly disappear? That’s the version they said,” She told Canale 5’s Verissimo.

“I didn’t disappear, I had to make an announcement in Paris about my withdrawal, then it came out on the anti-doping website that I had retired and the thing became public.

“I lived a little in Italy and a little in the United States.

“We stayed in Miami for three years.

“I would like to stay there forever, but I often return to Italy, I just don’t like to talk about what I do and it seems like I’m hiding.

“Now I’m happy, I’m where I would like to be.”

Lawyer Edmondo Tomaselli has insisted that Giorgi did not “run away” and denies the allegations made by the landlord.

The former world number 26 opened up.

She says the story isn’t as it seems. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP

When asked about the furniture, Giorgi insisted that it was paid for by herself.

“We did not flee for tax reasons,” she added.

“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.”

During Giorgi’s career, she competed in all four Grand Slams and reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2018.

In 2021, she reached the same stage of the Tokyo Olympics.

In her last appearance on the court, she was knocked out of the Miami Open by world No.1 Iga Swiatek.

She now appears to have crossed over to modelling on social media and often shares glamorous pictures of herself for her 734k followers on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Star breaks silence over claims she fled country due to tax evasion