Cameron Norrie sparked fears ahead of the Australian Open as the British No 1 pulled out of his quarter-final at the ASB Classic with a wrist injury.
Norrie had been due to face Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in Auckland, the city where he grew up, but withdrew just before the scheduled start on Thursday.
The injury is to Norrie’s right wrist and he is expected to have scans to determine its nature and seriousness prior to travelling to Melbourne for the Australian Open, where he has drawn to Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas in the first round.
Norrie reached the final in Auckland 12 months ago. As a result of his quarter-final withdrawal, he will drop outside the top 20 in the world for the first time since October 2021 on Monday.
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Cameron Norrie came through a tricky test against qualifier Luca Van Assche for his first win of 2024 at the ASB Classic
The 28-year-old needed three sets to overcome Luca Van Assche on Wednesday and book his place in the quarter-finals, winning 6-3 6-7(6) 6-1.
At that time, Norrie had seemed on course to reach the final again, with a likely meeting with top-seeded American Ben Shelton anticipated.
Shelton, ranked 16th in the world, progressed through to the semi-finals on Thursday with a 6-4 6-3 win over Spaniard Roberto Carballes.
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the 2024 season, starts at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
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