Cam Norrie is confident he can get back to the top of the tennis tree – despite one of the most difficult seasons of his career.
The Auckland-raised Norrie has been a fixture in the ATP’s upper echelon since October 2021, ranked inside the top 20 – or even top 15 for most of the time.
Now he is outside the top 50 after a year of tough results and the most significant injury since he went professional, with a torn bicep muscle that took him off the circuit for three months.
It’s an unusual feeling – for someone who has ranked as high as world No 8 and reached a Wimbledon semifinal – but it is also part of the sport.
“That’s the reality of it and the level that I have had this year,” said Norrie. “It’s exciting, looking forward to getting back to that level, and I know what it takes, I’ve been there before. I’ve had a lot of things go against me [this year] and lost a lot of tough matches. It just shows if you drop a little bit physically, mentally, it’s not easy – players will take your spot.”
Norrie also sees an opportunity. After eight years on the tour, the 29-year-old feels he is in the “middle” stage of his career.
“There are lots of new faces on the tour, younger guys,” added Norrie. “It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to getting some momentum back and being one of those more veteran guys on tour. I’m not a veteran yet, [but I’m] using my experience, learning from different situations. There’s opportunities in the grand slams and the big tournaments to do well and go deep, and we saw that with a few players this year having big results.”
After this week’s event in Metz, Norrie will move into his off season, focused on a big 2025 relaunch, including a return to the ASB Classic. He was always likely to come back to Auckland – given his fondness for the event – but a “back to basics” approach sealed the deal. Not only does he usually perform well in his home city, where he played for Bucklands Beach club and made his name as a junior before his switch of allegiance to Great Britain, but it’s also on his favourite surface.
“I didn’t play many outdoor hardcourt tournaments [this year]”. said Norrie. “And Auckland is a special place for me, I feel good there. It’s great prep for the Australian Open.”
Cameron Norrie at the 2023 ASB Classic. Photo / photosport.nz
It will be his ninth appearance here, where he reached the final in 2019 and 2023. Norrie made the quarter-finals this year – before being forced out with injury – followed by a run to the fourth round in Melbourne. There were decent outings at ATP 500 events in Rio (semifinal), Barcelona (quarter-final), and Wimbledon (third round) but mixed results elsewhere before injury struck just before the Olympics, after a practice session with a borrowed racquet.
“It was a pretty random ‘from nowhere’ injury, so it was tough to go through,” said Norrie.
There were silver linings, with a rare chance to spend time with family and friends and a break from the constant grind and pressure.
“Mentally, I did enjoy it, in a way,” Norrie said.
When he did return, tour-level results were hard to come by, with first-up losses in Stockholm, Vienna and Paris.
“That was the [lesson],” Norrie said. “I was really expecting myself to come back flying. I was not as patient as I could have been – I wanted everything to go well and feel perfect straight away and that was not very realistic. I learned that in the results.
“Mentally, I was not used to being in those pressure moments of playing a match and preparing for a match. I need to let it come naturally and not try to force things too much.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.
