Norrie retires injured at Grand Slam for first time
Cameron Norrie experienced a disappointing exit at the French Open as he was compelled to retire injured during his first-round match, marking the first occasion he has retired at a Grand Slam event.
The British number one had sustained a rib injury prior to Roland Garros, which he attributed to "overdoing it with the preparation."
On a hot Tuesday afternoon in Paris, Norrie competed against Paraguay's Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, remaining competitive throughout much of the first set.
However, the 30-year-old began to struggle with movement after missing four set points in a closely contested tie-break and falling a break behind early in the second set.
Following the loss of his serve, Norrie summoned the doctor and trainer, indicating discomfort in his rib while resting in the shade.
He told his team "every serve is a struggle" but still opted to see out the next game.
Despite this, Norrie found it difficult to push himself up off the ground to serve and approached the net while trailing 7-6 (9-7), 2-0.
Previously, Norrie had retired only once in his professional career, at a Futures event in 2014, which is the lowest tier of professional tennis. He had never retired at a Grand Slam or ATP Tour tournament before this incident.
This development is a setback for Norrie, who reached the fourth round of the French Open last year. Nonetheless, retiring was the prudent decision given that Wimbledon is scheduled to begin in just over four weeks.
With Norrie's retirement, Jacob Fearnley remains the sole British male competitor in the singles draw, as Jack Draper is absent from the clay-court major due to injury.
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Playing 'in Norrie's DNA - he can't leave it alone'
Norrie's fitness and endurance have been key strengths throughout his career, along with his eagerness to participate in as many matches as possible.
After competing in consecutive Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome during April and May, Norrie chose to play at the Geneva Open in the week leading up to Roland Garros.
He was defeated in his opening match by Argentina's Mario Navone on Wednesday, and afterward admitted that he "probably should have retired" from that match.
"I overdid it with the preparation and not listening to my body and my mind," he told on Saturday.
"I kept pushing because I had never retired before in a match in my career, so I wasn't sure what to do."
Although his run has ended, former British number one Annabel Croft believes Norrie made the correct decision.
"It's far better not to exacerbate the injury problem and get back to the UK, have rest and treatment on it, and then start building up to Queen's Club and Wimbledon," she said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
"We've heard from [Novak] Djokovic that his body doesn't respond as well as it used to and into his thirties it was getting more difficult for his body to respond.
"This sport is so demanding and I can see why Norrie would have overtrained."
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller added:
"It is in Norrie's DNA - he just can't really leave it alone.
"That is what's made him the player he is today. He loves being out there."
Norrie had been the last British singles player remaining at 14 Grand Slams over the past five years, including the Australian Open in January.
Jacob Fearnley is set to begin his French Open campaign later on Tuesday, while Katie Boulter and Francesca Jones have advanced to the second round in the women's singles.
