Norrie’s French Open ends with rare retirement Image source, ReutersImage caption, Norrie has been the last British singles player standing at 14 Grand Slams in the past five years, including the Australian Open in JanuaryByAmy LofthouseBBC Sport senior journalistPublished26 May 2026, 15:05 BSTUpdated 37 minutes agoIf Cameron Norrie is retiring midway through a match, then it must be serious.British number one Norrie had never quit a top-level match in his career until deciding he could not continue in his French Open first-round match on Tuesday.A rib injury suffered in the build-up to Paris proved too much for Norrie, who trailed Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 7-6 (9-7) 2-0 when he called it quits.It was the first time since 2014 that Norrie retired from a match – and that came at a Futures event on the lowest rung of professional tennis.”It takes a big mental effort to play matches like this when you’re not fully fit,” Norrie, 30, mentioned.”You see Rafa [Nadal], how well he did in being able to put the pain aside.”It was starting to bother me on every shot, so it was about how can I just play tennis and not think about it every shot. “That was the challenge and I was not able to do that.”Nadal is known as the ‘King of Clay’ after winning 14 French Open title but is just as well known for the resilience he showed in fighting through injury in the biggest moments.Former world number eight Norrie has forged a reputation as the iron man of British tennis, possessing an endurance and work ethic rivalled by few others.But he has learned a harsh lesson after pushing himself too hard in the past few weeks.Norrie says he does not regret playing a five-set practice match against American world number six Ben Shelton in Monte Carlo a fortnight ago.However, he did acknowledge he should have retired from his match at last week’s Geneva Open when an inflamed rib joint bothered him during a defeat by Argentina’s Mario Navone.Norrie was subsequently unable to practice properly at Roland Garros until Monday but felt he had “to give it a go” against world number 71 Vallejo.”Maybe I could get through the match, but then at what cost? Something else could have happened,” Norrie mentioned.”For me, I’m not that interested in making third round. I’m trying to go fourth round, quarters, semis for the first time. “It was tough for me in the first round, but that’s why I took that decision.”How are French Open stars coping with Paris ‘heat-dome’?
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