‘She Was Sort of in a Cocoon’ – John McEnroe Says Naomi Osaka Didn’t Have the Chance to Grow as a Human Being

From the exhilaration of winning her maiden Grand Slam title by defeating Serena Williams to her mental health struggles during the 2021 French Open, Naomi Osaka has seen it all. The Japanese tennis star achieved massive success early in her career. To date, Osaka has managed to clinch four Grand Slam titles.

Her struggles with mental health issues are well-documented. Last year, she withdrew from the French Open before her second-round match owing to such problems. Recently, tennis legend, John McEnroe, opened up about Osaka attaining maturity to deal with her problems.

John McEnroe on Naomi Osaka

During an interview, the 63-year-old talked about how players deal with success nowadays. Citing the example of Osaka, McEnroe said, “Even sometimes when they succeed, they’re not mature enough or don’t want to deal with everything that comes with it. I mean Naomi Osaka comes to mind, she’s been successful at a very young age, she was sort of in a cocoon. And she hasn’t had a chance to grow up as a human being. It looks like it, I mean, I don’t know her. So, this is just a guess.”

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Further, he added, “She’s obviously a very introverted person, she’s talked about that, a shy person. And it’s kind of overwhelming in certain ways.”

The legendary American further went on to sympathize with Osaka, as he said, “And so you hate to see someone that good having such a tough time, who’s, doing so well in so many ways. So that tells me that we need to look at these things more carefully.”

He concluded by stressing the importance of ex-players’ advice and guidance in helping the current generation coping with the fame and attention that players get in the current era. “And hopefully, if us old guys or girls ex-players can be helpful in any way, I think it’s important to try to give some advice so that they feel better able to deal with it.”

Osaka’s latest collaboration with Levi’s

Earlier this month, the Japanese tennis star announced a new addition to her Levi’s collection. It was her second major fashion collaboration with Levi’s. Moreover, it was a special moment for Osaka, as she designed all the pieces herself.

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On the tennis front, Osaka will soon be making a comeback after missing the Wimbledon Championships due to an Achilles injury. She’ll be in action at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic next month.