IN TERMS OF FITNESS, I'VE COME A LONG WAY BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE I CAN WORK ON

Britain's Cameron Norrie has been ranked as high as number eight in the world and was, until this year, the country's leading player. His steady rise to the upper echelons of the tennis elite saw him break into the world's top 100 in 2018 - and never look back. Known as one of the hardest workers off court, he has a gruelling fitness programme overseen by former rugby player-turned-fitness-coach Vaclav Jursík. Men's Fitness caught up with the pair after a gruelling session to find out what it takes to be one of the world's best tennis players.

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Men's Fitness: You made the final in your most recent tournament in Metz. Were you pleased with your performance in terms of where you want to be?

Cameron Norrie: It's a pretty unique position I'm in this year, having recovered from injury and only having a couple of tournaments left to play. Going in to Metz, I was quite low on confidence with not many wins under my belt. I had a long break [through injury] which I've never really had in my career. If you'd told me before the tournament I was going to be playing in the final, I would have definitely taken that; I was happy that I was feeling more like myself on the court. Indoors is not my favourite playing surface so it was the first time I'd even made a semi-final indoors. It was a positive week to end the year but it's tough to gain any momentum given that it was the last tournament of 2024.

MF: The next big event for you is the Australian Open. Is it all about preparation for that now or are there any other stepping stones in-between?

CN: I have a couple of smaller events leading into the Australian Open, but of course this is the main focus for all the players right now. I'm playing Hong Kong on December 30th and then the week after it will be Auckland. By my standards, it will be quite a long preseason. I have just had a week off and it was my first training session back today. So it will be a good five weeks to get ready for the start of the year, although typically I have a bit shorter than that. But right now, I'm feeling good.

MR: In terms of training, how much time is spent on fitness and strength & conditioning compared to time spent on court?