Norrie back in the rhythm: 'I'm ready to battle'

Cameron Norrie is no stranger to the highs and lows of professional tennis, but this summer presented a new kind of challenge.

After picking up a forearm injury just days out from his maiden Olympics appearance in Paris, which forced him out of the entire North American hard-court swing as well as the Davis Cup Finals group stage, the 29-year-old Briton is back in the mix on the ATP Tour this week.

Ready to compete with renewed vigour, Norrie faces Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm on Tuesday.

“It was obviously frustrating at the beginning to miss all those big tournaments, that was tough,” Norrie told ATPTour.com. “But it was a good chance to refresh the body.”

Norrie said that he "felt nothing" in the tournaments that led to the Olympics, but it ended up keeping him away from competition for more than two months.

"It was just one shot a few days before the Olympics," said Norrie. "I had to stop and then I did scans and it wasn’t looking good. I trained a little bit more, trying to get myself ready for the US Open, but it wasn’t to be. It was a tough one.”

For Norrie, the former No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings and five-time ATP Tour titlist, it was the first real taste of life on the sidelines.

“It was an interesting period, I think it was a good realisation that it was a good time to rest,” added Norrie. “After six, seven years on the Tour, I didn’t really miss one week through injury. So, I definitely realised that was amazing. To enjoy time with my girlfriend and be a normal person for a little bit was something I haven’t done for a very long time, maybe since college.

“That was nice, for a bit, but then I realised I missed tennis a lot, I missed competing, the emotions of winning or losing. It’s a very steady life [when not competing]. I enjoyed it, but I feel ready to compete, ready to battle on the court.”

The British No. 2 returned to action last week at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Roanne - his first tournament since the Nordea Open in July. Norrie secured two wins before a quarter-final defeat to Luca Van Assche, but the Briton was able to reflect constructively on his competitive return.

“It was a good week, we can take a lot of positives from it,” said Norrie, who owns a 17-15 tour-level record this season. “The arm felt great, so I couldn’t ask for much more. I didn’t play my best in the last match even though I was really close to winning, but, for me, it doesn‘t matter.

“I’ve been approaching practice with a great attitude and I feel like I am doing all the right things. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but I think it’s a good place to be in. It’s good to try and always be in this mindset regardless of whether I’ve been out for two months or if I have played six tournaments in a row and am a little bit tired.”

A man on a mission ?@cam_norrie storms back to defeat Travaglia 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 and reach the @openaraderoanne quarterfinals!#ATPChallenger | @the_LTA pic.twitter.com/su6vYxgamu

In 2021, Norrie clinch his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, helping him surge into the Top 10 for the first time the following year. After a two-month hiatus in 2024, Norrie is relishing being back on the Tour and back in Stockholm, where he made it to the quarter-finals in 2022.

“It's so nice to be back in Stockholm, it’s an amazing city. It’s nice to be back on the Tour, and back in the rhythm,” said Norrie. “I just practised with Tommy Paul, one of my best friends, so it’s good to see him again. We had a good competitive match. I think the conditions here [suit me], the ball is quite slow so I think I feel good here. It’s a proper tennis club and there is a lot of history at this tournament, so it’s a great one to be back to.

"I want to go out, play free and compete as hard as I can. It's been a tough year already, so I want to enjoy the rest and go out on a high."

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