Cameron Norrie avoids disqualification for fiery antics ahead of Australian Open
Cameron Norrie’s frustration boiled over during his Auckland Classic defeat and it nearly lead to disqualification. The 29-year-old Brit’s poor forehand return hit the net to give opponent Facundo Diaz Acosta a match point. Norrie’s frustrations got the better of him as he let go of his racket.Credit: Sky Sports Norrie angrily threw his racket towards the crowd, hitting a spectator, but not with full force. The spectator emerged unscathed, while Norrie received only a warning from the chair umpire. The Argentinian sealed the win with a 6-2 6-3. “I wasn’t meaning to do that but it’s still not ideal to be doing that and I’ve never done something like that,” said Norrie. “She was laughing and I just said ‘So sorry, I didn’t mean to do that’. And she said ‘Yeah, I’m completely OK’. “That was not a big deal. But as we saw with some other players, you can easily be defaulted if it catches them in the wrong spot or they’re not looking or something. “I was not meaning to do that and it is completely not me to do something like that. “I apologised very quickly and I want to apologise in general. I’m not happy with how I behaved.” The world of tennis has seen its share of players facing disqualification for losing control over their equipment. Novak Djokovic’s controversial disqualification from the 2020 US Open remains a poignant example, as he accidentally struck a line judge with a ball. Thankfully, the spectator wasn’t hurt by the flying object GettyNorrie can count himself lucky he wasn’t disqualified over the incident[/caption] Similarly, in a heated match at Wimbledon in 2022 against Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas narrowly avoided a dismissal after hitting a ball into the crowd. In 2023, Australian Marc Polmans faced disqualification at the Shanghai Masters for hitting a ball that accidentally struck the chair umpire in the face. Norrie battled through injury throughout 2024, regrettably missing the North American swing of tournaments, including the US Open. However, he triumped upon his return in early 2025, reaching the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open last week. He will now head to Melbourne for the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday. Norrie’s recent journey hasn’t been without tension; in November, after finally securing his first win in months, things turned awkward with his opponent. Carballes Baena took issue by Norrie’s use of the word ‘Vamos’Sky Sports The Brit fought back from a set and a breakdown to beat Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 3-6 6-4 6-3 at the Moselle Open in Metz, but things soon got heated in the aftermath. After Norrie completed his victory, the pair met at the net to shake hands, only for Carballes Baena to then take issue with his opponent. The Spaniard appeared annoyed with the 29-year-old for using the word ‘Vamos’ to motivate himself at points in the second set whilst trailing in the match, which means ‘Come on’ in Spanish. Believing this was Norrie’s attempt at playing mind games, a frustrated Carballes Baena brought this up at the net. He said to his rival: “You’re saying: ‘Come on’ all the time, [while] looking in my face. You didn’t need to do that.” The Briton seemed unmoved by his Carballes Baena’s argument, as he replied: “A couple of ‘vamos’ and you get p***** off?” View Tweet: https://t.co/qqfRXOLHXz He remained unfazed after securing a hard-fought victory, despite a forearm injury that forced the 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist to miss both the Olympics and the US Open. With five ATP Tour singles titles to his name, including a prestigious Masters 1000 title at the 2021 Indian Wells Masters, and one doubles title, Norrie is seeded 19th for the Australian Open as the draw approaches on Thursday. The British No. 2 in men’s singles hopes fervently that there will be no more racket-throwing incidents at this year’s tournament.
Cameron Norrie’s frustration boiled over during his Auckland Classic defeat and it nearly lead to disqualification.
The 29-year-old Brit’s poor forehand return hit the net to give opponent Facundo Diaz Acosta a match point.
Norrie angrily threw his racket towards the crowd, hitting a spectator, but not with full force.
The spectator emerged unscathed, while Norrie received only a warning from the chair umpire.
The Argentinian sealed the win with a 6-2 6-3.
“I wasn’t meaning to do that but it’s still not ideal to be doing that and I’ve never done something like that,” said Norrie.
“She was laughing and I just said ‘So sorry, I didn’t mean to do that’. And she said ‘Yeah, I’m completely OK’.
“That was not a big deal. But as we saw with some other players, you can easily be defaulted if it catches them in the wrong spot or they’re not looking or something.
“I was not meaning to do that and it is completely not me to do something like that.
“I apologised very quickly and I want to apologise in general. I’m not happy with how I behaved.”
The world of tennis has seen its share of players facing disqualification for losing control over their equipment.
Novak Djokovic’s controversial disqualification from the 2020 US Open remains a poignant example, as he accidentally struck a line judge with a ball.
Similarly, in a heated match at Wimbledon in 2022 against Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas narrowly avoided a dismissal after hitting a ball into the crowd.
In 2023, Australian Marc Polmans faced disqualification at the Shanghai Masters for hitting a ball that accidentally struck the chair umpire in the face.
Norrie battled through injury throughout 2024, regrettably missing the North American swing of tournaments, including the US Open.
However, he triumped upon his return in early 2025, reaching the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open last week.
He will now head to Melbourne for the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday.
Norrie’s recent journey hasn’t been without tension; in November, after finally securing his first win in months, things turned awkward with his opponent.
The Brit fought back from a set and a breakdown to beat Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 3-6 6-4 6-3 at the Moselle Open in Metz, but things soon got heated in the aftermath.
After Norrie completed his victory, the pair met at the net to shake hands, only for Carballes Baena to then take issue with his opponent.
The Spaniard appeared annoyed with the 29-year-old for using the word ‘Vamos’ to motivate himself at points in the second set whilst trailing in the match, which means ‘Come on’ in Spanish.
Believing this was Norrie’s attempt at playing mind games, a frustrated Carballes Baena brought this up at the net.
He said to his rival: “You’re saying: ‘Come on’ all the time, [while] looking in my face. You didn’t need to do that.”
The Briton seemed unmoved by his Carballes Baena’s argument, as he replied: “A couple of ‘vamos’ and you get p***** off?”
He remained unfazed after securing a hard-fought victory, despite a forearm injury that forced the 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist to miss both the Olympics and the US Open.
With five ATP Tour singles titles to his name, including a prestigious Masters 1000 title at the 2021 Indian Wells Masters, and one doubles title, Norrie is seeded 19th for the Australian Open as the draw approaches on Thursday.
The British No. 2 in men’s singles hopes fervently that there will be no more racket-throwing incidents at this year’s tournament.
