Lawyers for Camila Giorgi, the Italian number one who last week retired from tennis at 32, said Monday their client has no intention of staying abroad to dodge a tax police probe into her earnings.
"No intention to shirk responsibility, Camila will return to Italy soon", they said, adding "her removal from the residence in Calenzano is temporary and due to a divergence of views within the family, and to the desire to take a pause for reflection to decide how to set up her life after the abandonment of competitive activity".
They added: "Camila's withdrawal from competitive competitions has nothing to do with the affair linked to the Guardia di Finanza investigations.
Giorgi herself has denied reports that her surprise decision to retire from tennis last week was linked to a tax dispute and that she is on the run from the Italian authorities.
In an Instagram post at the weekend, the 32-year-old confirmed that she had quit, a move that had not been announced except for her name appearing on the International Tennis Integrity Agency's (ITIA) Retired Players List with May 7 given as the date of the end of her professional career.
She described the reports about the reasons for the retirement as "fake articles".
The Italian tax authorities have reportedly been trying to track Giorgi down for about one month.
At the moment her whereabouts is not known. There are reports she could be in the United States.
The Italian Inland Revenue agency has reportedly sent an order for the seizure of 464,000 to the Italian Tennis Federation in relation to a tax dispute.
The federation is involved because it pays bonuses to players, so the tax authorities are seeking to get their hands on any of those that have so far not been paid out.
The 32-year-old from Macerata in Marche, whose highest position in the singles world ranking was 26 in October 2018, won four tournaments in the tour, the biggest being the WTA 1000 event in Montreal in 2021.
She was currently the No.1 Italian female tennis player.
After winning her first ITF title in 2009, she made her Grand Slam and main-draw debut at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.
Giorgi reached the fourth round of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships in just her second appearance at the tournament.
She reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, six years after her Wimbledon breakout.
Giorgi reached her first WTA Tour final in 2014 at the Katowice Open, and then won her first title at the Rosmalen Open.
The Montreal title was the biggest of her career.
Giorgi was known for her aggressive style of game and her powerful flat groundstrokes, and was considered to be one of the hardest hitters of the ball on the tour.
Her most notable professional wins came at the 2013 US Open, Indian Wells Open, and Eastbourne International, defeating former world No. 1 players Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, and Victoria Azarenka, respectively.
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