Cameron Norrie has sparked fears he may not be fit enough for the US Open by withdrawing from his second tournament in four days. The 28-year-old has endured a difficult 2024 season as injuries prevented him from competing in several events.
Norrie recently had to abandon his Olympic dream, withdrawing from his first round match against Tallon Griekspoor due to an unspecified injury. The LTA confirmed he was not fit enough to represent Team GB in Paris, but did not give any further details on the cause of the problem.
Earlier this week, the former Wimbledon semi-finalist withdrew from the Canadian Open and was replaced in the main draw by James Duckworth. Now it has been announced that Norrie will not play in the Cincinnati Open ahead of the US Open, which begins later this month.
He was removed from the list of participants in Cincinnati on Saturday and replaced by Miomir Kecmanovic. It remains to be seen whether he decides to compete in the US Open, as his injury is still causing him problems ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year.
Norrie has not played a competitive match since losing to Rafael Nadal at the Swedish Open in mid-July, and he recently said he wanted to face Jack Draper to fill the void left by Andy Murray’s retirement by emerging as the new face of British tennis.
“I would love for that to happen and it’s definitely possible,” Norrie said. “I know Jack has an incredibly high level of tennis but we’ll have to be the best we can be to make it happen. He’s matured so much and I’d love to compete at the highest level.”
Norrie hopes to avoid further injury when he finally returns to fitness after missing the Cincinnati Open. He played on through pain at the Australian Open in January, where he was beaten by Alexander Zverev in the fourth round, while battling another wrist problem.
