Norrie’s fitness and stamina have been among his biggest assets during his career – as well as his desire to play as much tennis as possible.
However, after playing in the back-to-back Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome across April and May, Norrie opted to go to the Geneva Open in the week leading in to Roland Garros.
He lost his opening match to Argentina’s Mario Navone on Wednesday and said afterwards he “probably should have retired” from it.
“I overdid it with the preparation and not listening to my body and my mind,” he told BBC Sport on Saturday.
“I kept pushing because I had never retired before in a match in my career, so I wasn’t sure what to do.”
That run is now over, but former British number one Annabel Croft believes Norrie made the right choice.
“It’s far better not to exacerbate the injury problem and get back to the UK, have rest and treatment on it, and then start building up to Queen’s Club and Wimbledon,” she said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
“We’ve heard from [Novak] Djokovic that his body doesn’t respond as well as it used to and into his thirties it was getting more difficult for his body to respond.
“This sport is so demanding and I can see why Norrie would have overtrained.”
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller added: “It is in Norrie’s DNA – he just can’t really leave it alone.
“That is what’s made him the player he is today. He loves being out there.”
Norrie was the last British singles player standing at 14 Grand Slams over the past five years, including the Australian Open in January.
Fearnley begins his French Open campaign later on Tuesday, while Katie Boulter and Francesca Jones have reached the second round in the women’s singles.
