A number of high-profile tennis stars have quit over the last few years, leaving fans dreaming of unlikely retirement U-turns.
After Roger Federer called it quits in 2022, Rafael Nadal joined him in retirement last year, playing his last match at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
Britain’s Andy Murray had retired earlier in the year, as had 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem, after both players struggled to recover from long-term injuries.
They weren’t the only players to retire in 2024, as a former top Italian star played her final match at the 2024 Miami Open.
However, a year on, she may be reconsidering her retirement, having now suggested the door is ‘open’ to a tennis return.
Camila Giorgi hints at retirement U-turn, ‘you never know’
After losing to Poland’s Iga Swiatek in the second round of the 2024 Miami Open, Italy’s Camila Giorgi retired from tennis, drawing the curtain on her 18-year professional career.
However, one year on, Giorgi has hinted at a potential return to tennis during a recent interview.
“Of course, you get these emotions and you say, ‘Why not leave a door open?” she said.
“Maybe I’d approach this adventure differently, perhaps a little more lightheartedly, but I’ve done a lot of things in this period and, above all, I’ve lived life, because perhaps you know you have to be a little more focused when you’re in a high-level sport.
“Anyway, I had a lot of fun. A possible return? You never know in life.
“You always have to leave doors open, in my opinion.”
At just 33 years of age, Giorgi still has plenty of time to enjoy success on the WTA Tour should she decide to return.
The Italian was a thoroughly entertaining player during her time on tour, picking up four titles in her ten final appearances.
| Final | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 2014 Katowice Open (Poland) | WTA 250 | Hard (Indoor) | Alize Cornet | Loss | 6-7, 7-5, 5-7 |
| 2014 Ladies Linz (Austria) | WTA 250 | Hard (Indoor) | Karolina Pliskova | Loss | 7-6, 3-6, 6-7 |
| 2015 Katowice Open (Poland) | WTA 250 | Hard (Indoor) | Anna Karolina Schmiedlova | Loss | 4-6, 3-6 |
| 2015 Rosmalen Open (Netherlands) | WTA 250 | Grass | Belinda Bencic | Win | 7-5, 6-3 |
| 2016 Katowice Open (Poland) | WTA 250 | Hard (Indoor) | Dominika Cibulkova | Loss | 4-6, 0-6 |
| 2018 Ladies Linz (Austria) | WTA 250 | Hard (Indoor) | Ekaternia Alexandrova | Win | 6-3, 6-1 |
| 2019 Washington Open (USA) | WTA 250 | Hard | Jessica Pegula | Loss | 2-6, 2-6 |
| 2019 Bronx Open (USA) | WTA 250 | Hard | Magda Linette | Loss | 7-5, 5-7, 4-6 |
| 2021 Canadian Open | WTA 1000 | Hard | Karolina Pliskova | Win | 6-3, 7-5 |
| 2023 Merida Open (Mexico) | WTA 250 | Hard | Rebecca Peterson | Win | 7-6, 1-6, 6-2 |
Giorgi won the biggest title of her career at the 2021 Canadian Open, defeating Karolina Pliskova in the final to become a WTA 1000 champion for the first time.
She is also a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist, losing out to Serena Williams in the 2018 tournament.
Unfortunately for Giorgi, what made her so great often caused her problems on the WTA Tour, as she struggled to maintain consistency.
Playing as aggressively as she did, Giorgi often took risks that came back to bite her, especially on her second serve.
In 2015, the Italian broke the record for double faults in a single season with 458, despite reaching two finals that year.
Most WTA double faults per year (Since 2010)
- 2010 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (317)
- 2011 – Marion Bartoli (388)
- 2012 – Marion Bartoli (437)
- 2013 – Petra Kvitova (362)
- 2014 – Camila Giorgi (377)
- 2015 – Camila Giorgi (458)
- 2016 – Kristina Mladenovic (263)
- 2017 – Jelena Ostapenko (380)
- 2018 – Daria Saville (385)
- 2019 – Jelena Ostapenko (436)
- 2020 – Aryna Sabalenka (166)
- 2021 – Aryna Sabalenka (338)
- 2022 – Aryna Sabalenka (428)
- 2023 – Ekaterina Alexandrova (357)
- 2024 – Coco Gauff (430)
- 2025* – Coco Gauff (320)
If she does choose to make a return to tennis, perhaps she will do so with a slightly less aggressive approach than before…
Camila Giorgi praises ‘phenomenon’ Jannik Sinner
During her time on tour, Giorgi helped push Italian tennis forward, alongside the likes of Fabio Fognini, Flavia Pennetta, and Roberta Vinci.
In 2025, thanks in part to their efforts, Italian tennis is in a better place than ever before, with Jannik Sinner leading the way as world number one.
Commenting on the growth of the sport in her country, and Sinner’s success in particular, Giorgi described the 24-year-old as a ‘phenomenon’.
“I think tennis today is incredible, thanks to the transformation [Jannik] Sinner has brought,” she said.
“He’s achieved results no Italian has ever achieved, so logically he’s a phenomenon.”
While Giorgi ponders a potential return to the WTA Tour, Sinner prepares for his first-round match in New York.
The number-one seed will play Czechia’s Vit Kopriva in round one of the US Open on Tuesday, August 26.
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