Camila Giorgi risks being left off Italy's Olympic tennis squad for this year's Rio de Janeiro Games after severing ties with her national federation.
"The ITF rules say that players must be 'in good standing' with their federation to qualify for the Games. For me right now Giorgi is not in good standing," Italian Tennis Federation president Angelo Binaghi said Tuesday.
Last month, Giorgi announced in a brief statement that she was cutting relations with the federation and would not play on Italy's Fed Cup team for this weekend's World Group playoff against Spain. She will compete in qualifying for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, instead.
Binaghi also said that on Monday he sent a letter to Giorgi's father and coach, Sergio, seeking $180,000 for broken contracts.
On Sunday, the 49th-ranked Giorgi lost in the final of Katowice Open for the third consecutive year. She lost 6-4, 6-0 to eighth-seeded
Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.
The federation is likely to open disciplinary proceedings against Giorgi, who trains at a federation facility in Tirrenia.
"We're waiting for them to pay up and they certainly won't, so at that point it's difficult to be in good standing with the people who you asked for help," Binaghi said. "We've cared for her over the years and then when they win two matches they forget about us."
Sergio Giorgi did not immediately respond to a call for comment.
Karin Knapp, ranked 74th, took Giorgi's place on the Fed Cup team, which also includes
Roberta Vinci,
Sara Errani and
Francesca Schiavone.
Giorgi, 24, has played in five Fed Cup ties for Italy, with a record of three wins and five losses.
Giorgi is in position to qualify for Rio, with the top 56 in the rankings getting direct acceptances for the Olympic tournament.