Cameron Norrie's French Open preparations hit by rib injury
Cameron Norrie remains the sole British seeded singles player at the French Open amid concerns over his fitness.
In a season marked by fitness setbacks for British tennis players, Norrie has revealed a rib injury that casts doubt on his ability to compete. The British number one is in a race against time to be fit for his opening round match against Paraguay's Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, scheduled for Tuesday.
Norrie has not been able to practice at Roland Garros due to the injury. Reflecting on his recent Geneva Open defeat to Argentina's Mario Navone, he expressed regret over not retiring from the match.
"It is a small problem with my rib. I overdid it with the preparation and not listening to my body and my mind," Norrie, seeded 22nd, told .
"I probably should have retired. I kept pushing because I had never retired before in a match in my career, so I wasn't sure what to do.
"But I'm here. Luckily I'm scheduled on Tuesday, so it gives me some time to get ready."
Injuries expose Britain's lack of depth
Norrie has earned the nickname 'Mr Dependable' in British tennis, having reached at least the third round in 15 of the last 20 Grand Slam tournaments. Over the past five years, he has often been the leading British player at 14 majors, including the Australian Open earlier this year.
Despite his consistency, the Australian Open marked the second consecutive Grand Slam where no British singles player advanced to the second week. Last year, Norrie reached the fourth round at the French Open, making him the prime candidate to break this trend in Paris.
Jack Draper, who overtook Norrie as British number one in 2024, is sidelined with a knee injury. This adds to Draper's ongoing fitness challenges, having recently returned from nearly six months out due to bone bruising in his serving arm.
Sonay Kartal, who entered the top 50 last year, has missed the entire clay-court season because of a back injury sustained during her run to the Indian Wells fourth round.
Among the six British players in the French Open singles main draws, many have been affected by injuries this year.
'No substitutes in tennis' - why are so many British players injured?
Jacob Fearnley has competed in only two tournaments over the past two months due to a rib injury. Francesca Jones has endured a challenging season, including a head injury sustained in the gym.
Emma Raducanu postponed the start of her season because of a bruised foot that ended her 2025 campaign prematurely. She has also faced setbacks in the last two months due to a viral infection.
Katie Boulter has avoided injury this season but arrived at Roland Garros recently recovering from flu. French Open qualifier Toby Samuel has been accumulating wins on the Challenger tour after missing most of 2024 with an arm injury.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) conducts internal audits of injuries among British players and reports no recurring patterns.
Jones attributes the spate of injuries to "bad luck," noting the widespread nature of injuries across the tours and suggesting the demanding calendar as a contributing factor.
"I don't necessarily think there's one reason for all," said Boulter.
"Everyone is an individual case. It just seems to be that everything has happened at once."
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