Wimbledon press conferences have always had the ability to shock people, but even the most passionate tennis fan would be stunned by what Cameron Norrie
Cameron Norrie was left aghast when a reporter boldly asked him if he is dating Emma Raducanu. Norrie, 29, became Great Britain’s final hope in the Wimbledon men’s singles, when he progressed into the round of 16 by beating Mattia Bellucci 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-3.
Jack Draper’s shock exit to Marin Cillic means Norrie is the only Brit left in the men’s singles. In his post-match press conference, he may have been prepared for questions about the pressure of being one of Britain’s last hopes at SW19 or whether he believes he can emerge from the Grand Slam victorious.
However, during the questioning, he was asked to confirm whether he is currently dating Raducanu. Needless to say, he was astounded by the question.
The reporter began his question by praising Norrie – who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, but switched his allegiance to Great Britain, the nationality of his parents, at the age of 17. The journalist said: “Congratulations again on your win.
“Apart from everyone here loving tennis, some of the gossip has been about who Emma Raducanu is dating. Can I ask if you’re dating her? Can we get to the bottom of this, please?”
Norrie, who was slouching a little bit at his desk, suddenly straightened up and widened his eyes, while figuring out if he did hear what he heard. He replied: “Sorry?”
The reporter asked his question again, saying: “We’re trying to find out who is dating Emma Raducanu. It seems to be going round all the men’s singles. I was just wondering if you are dating her, please?”
With a confused look on his face, Norrie replied: “I’m not, no. You can ask her, though. You can ask her. I don’t know,” before he swiftly turned away.
Friday night saw Raducanu’s summer at Wimbledon come to an end as she was knocked out by World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
In recent weeks, though, there has been all sorts of talk about Raducanu’s dating life away from the court. There were many romance rumours linking the 2021 US Open winner with Wimbledon defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
However, Raducanu recently put a lid on those rumours, stating they are just good friends. On her US Open mixed doubles partner for next month, she said: “I’ve known him for years. Wimbledon 2021 was the first time I started getting to know him, and I had a good run there and then also again in the US Open in 2021.
“We have a good relationship still. He’s obviously overtaken me a lot, but it’s nice that we have that from a while ago. I think for all of us, we really kind of value those connections that we had from when we were young.
“When you become a bit more known or a bit more successful, you just find yourself reverting back to people you knew from a young age because you’re like, ‘That’s a real genuine connection.’ Because it becomes very busy and you have a lot more friends but the ones that you’ve known for a long time mean a lot more to you.”