WATCH: Cameron Norrie accidentally throws a racket into the crowd and hits a woman at the Auckland Open

Cameron Norrie lost to Facundo Diaz Acosta 2-6, 3-6 in the first round of the Auckland Open after avoiding disqualification for his actions.

WATCH: Cameron Norrie accidentally throws a racket into the crowd and hits a woman at the Auckland Open

Cameron Norrie (via X)

Cameron Norrie‘s struggles on the court continued at the Auckland Open. The British star failed to win a title last year for the first time in three years, but this time around, he was caught in a bit of controversy. The British starlet out his frustration by throwing his racket into the crowd at the Auckland Classics.

Norrie failed to perform to his expectations against Facundo Diaz Acosta in the first round of the Auckland Open. The British star was facing a match point in the second set against his Argentine opponent and let out his frustration after a poor forehand hit the net to give Diaz Acosta the point.

YouTube video

The 2023 Auckland Open runners-up then lazily tossed his racket into the crowd, which struck a woman in a court-side box, but was unhurt. The 29-year-old received a warning from the chair umpire before the match continued. However, the loss was already sealed for Norrie as Diaz Acosta won 6-2, 6-3 to earn a place in the second round of the Auckland Open.

Nonetheless, Norrie avoided disqualification for his actions as several players in the past have suffered consequences after doing the same. Novak Djokovic was controversially disqualified from the 2020 US Open after accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball. Also, in 2023, Australian star Marc Polmans was defaulted at the Shanghai Masters for hitting a ball into the face of the chair umpire.

Cameron Norrie says he apologized immediately to the woman who got hit by his racket

Cameron Norrie struggled with injuries throughout the 2024 season, which forced him to miss the entirety of the North American swing last year. However, despite being back on the court this season, he is yet to get back to his best. But, tossing his racket in the middle of a match at the Auckland Open is proof of how much he is frustrated.

Cameron Norrie (via X)

Nevertheless, after the incident, the British star said he apologized to the woman who he hit with his racket. He added it was not intentional by him and that he didn’t mean to cause anyone harm during the match.

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. 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 apologized very quickly and I want to apologise in general. I’m not happy with how I behaved.

Cameron Norrie said via Sky Sports

The Auckland Open was Norrie’s second tournament of the season. He has made a good start to the 2025 season by reaching the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open last week. He will now focus his attention on the Australian Open, which starts on Sunday, January 12.