MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Italian tennis player Camila Giorgi has denied allegations that she obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccine certificate in order to travel.
A doctor is under investigation in Italy for supplying false certificates and false vaccinations and Giorgi’s name was revealed in a long list of people implicated by an Italian newspaper.
On Tuesday, after her 6-0, 6-1 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open, Giorgi confirmed she had seen a doctor but said she had done nothing wrong.
“I just did all my vaccinations in different places, so the problem is hers, not mine,” he said. “So with that, I am very calm. Of course, otherwise I couldn’t come here and play this tennis, I think.”
Giorgi said she was vaccinated by the Italian doctor and by medical officials in other countries.
“Once. The other shot was in different kinds of places, so that’s what I’m trying to explain,” he said.
His father, Sergio Giorgi, was sitting at the back of the interview room on Tuesday at Melbourne Park and when the news conference ended, he said: “Unbelievable, no tennis questions.”
Ahead of the tournament, Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said he was not fully aware of the fake certificate claims.
“I think there is still a lot to find out about that and I think it will ultimately depend on his family and the relevant authorities, including the tour,” he said. “I really don’t know any more details.”
___
AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports