Naomi Osaka is going through some rough patches currently. After withdrawing from last year’s French Open and missing Wimbledon to safeguard her mental health, she has executed only one noteworthy run. The 2021 Australian Open champion made it up to the finals of the WTA 100 event in Miami. Apart from that, her name didn’t reflect in any tournament’s second week.

Therefore, fans, as well as veterans such as the seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe, are not so sure about her position in the upcoming majors. Here’s what McEnroe has to say.

McEnroe on Osaka’s future in the US Open

The former world number one believes that Osaka’s decision to take a break and speak about mental health was the right thing to do. Though he isn’t so sure about its positive effect on her game. And while weighing the pros and cons, McEnroe said, “As far as Naomi, when she went out with the whole mental health thing, it was sort of a gutsy thing to talk about and bring to the forefront and it was important, especially with the pandemic. She’s not the first person that’s gone through this obviously.?We all have gone through it, athletes. But she brought it out.”

Thereafter he added, “The problem I thought at the time and still do is that if anything, there?s more attention thrown on her because every time she walks on the court, you?re like, did she look happy? Does she look sad? So, in a way, it made it more difficult for her.”

“It seems like that part may not have been taken into account enough. And so that’s made it trickier. I don?t know where her head?s at. Obviously, she?s incredible on hard courts. But at the moment, it doesn?t seem like she?s all there,”?the 63-year-old added.

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Further, the fact that she broke down into tears when heckled by a spectator at Indian Wells this year only fueled the conversation. Many believe she lacks mental endurance, a factor that is arguably the most important in a sport like tennis.

Naomi Osaka in the Miami Open

Naomi Osaka openly challenged some analytical picks, which predicted a subpar performance from her end in the second event of Summer Doubles. Following that, in order to prove her point, she stormed the hard courts of Miami.

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Beating the heat, the former world number one outclassed almost every opponent of hers in straight sets, to book a match with Iga Swiatek. Though the Pole, who was riding high on form and was on her way to achieving a monstrous 37-match winning streak, took her down. The WTA number one ranked player got the better of the Japanese ace in straight sets of 6-4, 6-0.

What do you make of McEnroe’s comments on Osaka? Let us know in the comments below.