FORMER tennis star Camila Giorgi has returned to the spotlight at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend.
Giorgi, 33, was back in her home country of Italy after being accused of fleeing authorities for alleged tax evasion and unpaid rent.
The former world No26 retired from tennis in May of last year, turning to lingerie modelling – something she had previously balanced with her on-court action.
Giorgi has barely been seen since her surprise retirement, which came amid the financial accusations.
Now she is well and truly back in the limelight as she stepped out on the red carpet in Venice wearing a glamorous white dress covered in sequins.
Giorgi, who moved to the US following her retirement, was accused of owing six months of rent at a villa near Florence last year.
While it was even alleged that she was trying to evade tax authorities, which she denied.
Giorgi claimed that the accusations regarding her unpaid rent were “laughable” in an interview with Italian chat show Verissimo last October.
While she also poured cold water over the suggestion she had disappeared or “fled” to the US in the midst of the accusations.
She said: “It was not an escape. I moved to America permanently with my parents.”
She added that her retirement simply coincided with the conclusion of an investigation by the Guardia di Finanza, an Italian law enforcement agency that deals with financial crime.
Giorgi claimed allegations of tax evasion were down to a lawyer that she no longer used and not her.
She continued: “The problems with the tax authorities? My family did not know about them. They were created by outside people who managed me.”
As a tennis player, Giorgi managed a last 16 appearance in the 2013 US Open and an impressive run to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2018.
She also made it to the quarter-finals of the tennis at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics while representing Italy.
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