WATCH: Norrie Surprisingly Avoids Disqualification After Hitting Spectator With Racket
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Cameron Norrie's campaign at the 2025 ASB Classic in Auckland didn't end well, as he lost already in the first round but surprisingly avoided disqualification.
Norrie was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He resides in Monaco and represents Great Britain, but he spent the early years of his life in Auckland, New Zealand. His family moved there when he was three and lived there until he was eight.
That means Norrie technically has a tournament in his hometown in Auckland, as he grew up in the city. It's a nice coincidence, which is why he often competes at the ATP 250 event.
He reached the final in 2019 and 2023, but he still misses a title from the ASB Classic, which is why he always keeps returning. In 2025, he made already his ninth appearance at the event.
Although the draw was nice to him, giving him lucky loser Facundo Diaz Acosta in the first round, Norrie couldn't turn this luck of draw into a first-round win in Auckland.
Diaz Acosta lost in the second round of the qualifying after entering the event on a six-match losing streak. On top of that, he lost both matches he played against Norrie in the past, making the Brit and overwhelming favorite.
But what happened on the court differed from expectations. Diaz Acosta was the better player in the first set, using two of his five break point chances while saving three consecutive break points in the process. Thanks to that, he won the first set 6-2.
Things weren't going well for Norrie in the second set either, as he fell behind already in the second game of the set. He was then able to erase a one-break disadvantage, making it 2-3, but every time he erased a break, he lost his serve again, as players completed four consecutive games without holding their serve.
That streak came to an end when Diaz Acosta was serving for the set at 5-3 in the second set. After losing a point at 30-30, Norrie was visibly frustrated, which ended in an awkward arm movement, after which his racket left his hand, hitting a spectator.
The World No. 48 rushed to apologize, but the damage had been already done. Surprisingly, after umpire Greg Allensworth checked on the spectator and confirmed they were fine, he chose not to default Norrie.
Although Diaz Acosta didn't convert the match point chance he created thanks to that point, he converted the following one, eventually winning the match 6-2, 6-3. Norrie, on the other hand, apologized after the match.
"I didn’t mean to do that, but it’s still not ideal to be doing that, and I’ve never done something like that. (The spectator) 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 apologized very quickly, and I want to apologize in general. I’m not happy with how I behaved."
