Garbin started playing tennis at the age of three. She preferred clay and hard courts.
In 1993 she took part in an international tournament for the first time, and in 1996 she began her professional career. From 2000 until her retirement in 2011, she was among the top 100 in the WTA world rankings. On May 21, 2007 it reached its highest rating at number 22; in doubles she was temporarily in position 25 in 2001. In her professional career, Garbin won a WTA tournament in singles and eleven WTA and ITF titles in doubles. A total of more than 2.6 million US dollars in prize money was collected.
She achieved one of her most spectacular successes in 2004 at the French Open when she beat the then world number one Justine Henin . Garbin was part of the Italian Olympic team in 2000 and 2004 and also competed in the Fed Cup several times for her country . In 2007 she reached the first sixteen of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open . At Wimbledon in 2009, she made it through to the quarter-finals for the first time in doubles with her partner Kristina Barrois and was again listed in the top 100 in this category . In 2011 she announced the end of her career after the Australian Open .
Garbin played in the German tennis Bundesliga for several years . In 2004 with the TC Moers 08 and in 2008 with the TC Zamek Benrath , she was each German team champion. In the 2006 season she was runner-up with the TC Benrath.