Close Call! Norrie Avoids Default After Racket Hits Fan in Auckland Frustration
Remember the start of the 2025 tennis season? Things got a bit tense for Britain's Cameron Norrie during the Auckland Classic back in January.
Facing Facundo Diaz Acosta in the first round, Norrie was clearly battling frustration. Down match point after netting a forehand, he impulsively threw his racket. The problem? It sailed towards the spectators, lightly hitting one fan.
Thankfully, the spectator wasn't injured – reportedly even laughing it off! Norrie immediately apologized, and crucially for him, the chair umpire issued only a code violation (a warning) rather than a default, which easily could have happened. We all remember Novak Djokovic's infamous US Open default for accidentally hitting a line judge, highlighting the fine line players tread.
After the match (which he lost 6-2, 6-3), Norrie was quick to express his regret and relief.
"I wasn't meaning to do that but it's still not ideal," he admitted. "She was laughing and I just said 'so sorry, I didn't mean to do that'. And she said 'yeah, I'm completely OK'."
He acknowledged the potential severity, adding, "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... 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."
Coming off an injury-plagued 2024, Norrie had started 2025 decently with a quarter-final run in Hong Kong the week before. Despite the Auckland hiccup, he headed off to the Australian Open shortly after.
It was definitely a moment Norrie would want to forget, but also a lucky escape and a reminder of how quickly frustration can lead to potentially serious consequences on court. What do you think – was a warning enough?
