Britain’s Cameron Norrie apologised and avoided disqualification when a racket he threw in the air struck a spectator at the ATP Tour tournament in Auckland on Tuesday. Norrie was facing match point against Facundo Díaz Acosta of Argentina when he lightly tossed his racket, which struck a woman in a court-side box who was unhurt. Norrie received a warning from the chair umpire and went on to lose 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the tournament. He reached the final in Auckland in 2023. “I wasn’t meaning to do that but it’s still not ideal to be doing that and I’ve never done something like that,” Norrie said. “[The spectator] was laughing and I just said: ‘So sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.’ And she said: ‘Yeah, I’m completely OK.’ Footage courtesy of ATP Tour.