British tennis player Cameron Norrie narrowly avoided disqualification during his first-round match at the ASB Classic in Auckland on January 7, 2025. Facing match point against Argentina’s Facundo Díaz Acosta, Norrie tossed his racket in frustration after netting a shot. The racket inadvertently flew into the stands, striking a woman seated in the front row. Fortunately, the spectator was uninjured and responded with understanding. Norrie immediately approached her to apologize, and she assured him she was completely okay.
The chair umpire issued Norrie a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct but did not disqualify him. Reflecting on the incident, Norrie expressed remorse, stating, “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… I apologized very quickly and I want to apologize in general. I’m not happy with how I behaved.”
Norrie went on to lose the match 6-2, 6-3 to Díaz Acosta. This incident draws parallels to previous occurrences in professional tennis where players faced penalties for unintentionally striking individuals with equipment. Notably, at the 2020 U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic was defaulted after accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball.
