“She’s the type of person we need” John McEnroe expresses his concerns about Naomi Osaka’s mental health battle amidst rising media attention

World No. 43 Naomi Osaka has been having a tough time on the Tour for more than a year now. Having won the 2021 Australian Open, her fourth Grand Slam title and second in Australia, a successful season was expected from the Japanese international but it turned out to be completely opposite after her appearance at the 2021 French Open when she refused to speak with the press in order to protect her mental health.

This led to the former World No. 1 getting a lot of criticism along with great support for speaking on her mental health issues and not hiding them. Having refused media interaction to protect herself, the comments brought more focus towards her and as a result, she withdrew prior to her second-round match at the Grand Slam and since then has not been a Tour regular skipping last year’s Wimbledon as well. While she has played in both the Slams this year, she hasn’t made good runs and has played only 6 events so far this season.

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“Naomi Osaka did something that at the time she thought was right”: John McEnroe

While many did criticise Naomi for her outburst and refusal to interact with media, former World No. 1 and 7-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe supported her and congratulated her for bringing the discussion of mental health into light as he felt not many talked about it. He was an outright supporter of her throughout the phase and still supports her for being brave about it.

“I worry about Naomi because she did something that at the time she thought was right and an incredible thing. But the problem is that there’s more attention on her now. How is she doing today? How’s the next one? Is she going to Wimbledon? So what started out as something that was done for reasons she felt good about, now she’s probably not quite as sure about. And it’s too bad.

“Because she’s the type of person we need. Big time. She won four Grand Slams already. And everyone has their way of dealing with (pressure). Some are healthier than others,” said McEnroe as per The New York Daily News. McEnroe blamed the commercialisation of the sport that has made mental health a secondary factor for a player.

“I find it healthy in a lot of ways that (mental health) is being talked about more openly. But this isn’t something that just started. This started way before me. Obviously, with more money in sports, it’s become more of a business. Parents see dollar signs in their eyes. It’s gotten way worse in that regard,” added McEnroe.

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