Camila Giorgi hits back at doctor over fake COVID-19 vaccine allegations
Camila Giorgi pulled no punches when it came to dismissing the recent allegations over the status of her COVID-19 vaccination. She has now declared that it was her doctor who should be in trouble and not her.
The Italian came under investigation late last year for allegedly obtaining fake vaccination certificates from an anti-vaxx doctor in her country. The doctor herself came out in the media later, revealing that the 31-year-old personally asked for the doctored documents.
Asked to comment on the matter after her stunning 6-0, 6-1 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round of the 2023 Australian Open on Tuesday, the World No. 70 minced no words, stating that none of those comments were true. Adding that she took only one dose from the aforementioned doctor and that the rest of her shots came elsewhere, Camila Giorgi made it clear that she was not concerned about the situation at all.
"I'm not in danger. Not at all. She's in trouble, so I don't need to. I did everything what they ask, the Australia government. It's what I'm saying, I did just once vaccination with her, and the other ones I did with other doctors.
"So I'm fine, and she the one -- she's in trouble with the law in Italy. So after it's she's going to see. No, not at all, because I did vaccination with different places, and this need to be very clear because it's a big thing they say all around, and it's not my problem. It's her problem," Camila Giorgi said.
Raising the question of how she could come to Australia and play tennis if she wasn't vaccinated, Giorgi ruled out the allegations completely. She stated that just because hers was one of the 300 names named by the doctor, it doesn't make it true.
"The doctor has been investigated, and she had troubles in this year with the law a few times. I just did all my vaccination in different places. So the trouble is hers. Not me. So with that, I'm very calm.
"I couldn't come here and play this tennis, I think. Each year we are fine with that. She have these problems. Me, I figure out before I come here. She put on my name, of course, but there is more than 300 people who she give the names," Camila Giorgi said.
Initially calm during the press conference, Giorgi appeared to get increasingly irate as the same line of questioning continued. Regardless, the former World No. 26 stuck to her guns, repeating over and over that she did take the vaccination and that it was the genuine thing.
Camila Giorgi takes on Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in second round of Australian Open
Meanwhile, Camila Giorgi will focus on her second-round match at the 2023 Australian Open, where she takes on Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. The Slovakian defeated Italian No. 1 Martina Trevisan in her first-round clash.
The two have met on tour once previously, with Schmiedlova beating the 31-year-old in the final of the 2015 Katowice Open in straight sets. A win on Thursday would most likely pit the Italian against Belinda Bencic in the third round.