There is a star that in the firmament of the WTA Tour has shone for four years, she has become the most beautiful and bright of all, but she then suddenly stopped doing it, slowly fading. This metaphor represents exactly the career of Naomi Osaka, 4-time slam champion, who, due to severe depression problems, was forced to leave the fields and devote herself to her mental health.
This year the Japanese tennis player returned to play a final, at the WTA 1000 in Miami, more than a year after the Australian Open final won against Jennifer Brady. In the following months, however, she was unable to confirm her results, having to give up at Wimbledon too with an Achilles tendon injury.
Former German world number one, John McEnroe, spoke of the Japanese tennis player as a key figure for the WTA Tour in an interview with the New York Daily News.
John McEnroe’s words
McEnroe, referring to the confrontation with the media of the former number one of the WTA Tour, partially justified the behavior of Osaka: “I worry about Naomi because she did something that she at the time she thought was right and incredible. But the problem is, there is more attention to her. Now you wonder: how are you today, how are you tomorrow, will you go to Wimbledon?” said the former German tennis player.
McEnroe added: “So what started out as something done for reasons that suited her, she’s probably not so sure now. And that’s a shame. Because she is the kind of person we need. Great. You have already won four Grand Slams. Everyone handles pressure differently. I think it’s healthy, in many ways, that you talk about it more openly. But this is not something that has just begun.”
The former number one then concluded his interview by throwing a dig at the parents of the tennis players, who now see their children as an opportunity to earn: “Parents see dollar signs in her eyes. She has gotten a lot worse in that respect,” said McEnroe.