Norrie was born in South Africa, where his Scottish father and Welsh mother resided, but one of their neighbors was the victim of an armed carjacking when he was a child. Norrie’s family was frightened by the incident, and his parents decided to move to New Zealand. According to Norrie’s father, it was one of the best decisions they made.
As Cameron Norrie faces Novak Djokovic in front of his home crowd in the biggest match of his career, his first grand slam semi-final, it will be another step in an arduous journey that has taken him across three countries and required sacrifices along the way.
David Norrie states, “We lived in a complex with barbed-wire electric fencing.” As you drove up, there was an automated gate, so it was relatively secure. Our neighbor was essentially the victim of a carjacking one evening. A gun was placed to his head, and a baby was in the backseat of the car. We decided at that point that this was not a suitable place to raise children and began making plans to emigrate.”
The Norrie family’s departure from South Africa proved to be a turning point in their son’s career. The sports-obsessed culture of New Zealand inspired him to participate in numerous sports, which shaped him into an accomplished athlete. Before settling on one sport, he participated in football, table tennis, and cross country.
However, even though it was an ideal environment for learning sports, Norrie quickly outgrew his surroundings due to his talent. Norrie moved to London at age 16 to honor his family’s heritage. Norrie attributes much of his success to his decision to leave his hometown in search of competition and tennis-related knowledge.
“I believe that’s one of the reasons I’m here today, especially in New Zealand with the lack of exposure to competitions and everything else, it was difficult,” adds Norrie. When I was younger, I participated in several other sports. And obviously, I needed to be at a location with more competition and people who knew a little bit more about coaching, before I could improve and become a professional player. Therefore, moving at age 16 was ideal for me.”
Norrie initially relocated to London, where he was coached by the LTA’s James Trotman and lived at the National Tennis Centre with several younger players who mentored him. When Andy Murray won Wimbledon for the first time in 2013, he was at the beginning of his career, bouncing between juniors, where he achieved a career-high of No. 10, and his first taste of professional tennis competitions. Relocating from New Zealand and being in school and enjoying a regular life to moving to the opposite side of the world and being a full-time tennis player was difficult for him; he believes it would be difficult for anyone.
Early on, Norrie was timid and uncertain about his future, which led to his decision to enroll in college. “I grew up a great deal during college. And I don’t believe I knew exactly what I wanted to do with tennis at that age, nor did I know my level.”
Norrie didn’t return to New Zealand for an extended period until the earliest Covid lockdowns. He spent the first few months of the Covid lockdown in Auckland with his parents, running constantly whenever he was allowed outside. They had not seen each other in person since he resumed the tour. Norrie’s parents have only recently reunited with him in Rome during the clay season. While they have spent the past few months captivated by his tennis from the front rows, they will eventually return home and continue to follow him from a distance.
David Norrie, describing what it’s like to follow his kid from New Zealand, adds, “You just have to sit there and absorb the highs and lows.” “The timezone at home is not always advantageous. But even when it is, I’d almost prefer to be doing something else and return to it later with the question, “What was the final score?”
