Naomi Osaka is hugely important, there's nobody that really moves the needle in women's tennis right now: Patrick McEnroe
Patrick McEnroe has highlighted the importance of Naomi Osaka on the women's tennis tour. According to the former French Open doubles champion, the Japanese tennis superstar "moves the needle" like no other active player on the women's circuit.
The 25-year-old has been a big miss for a major part of the last 18 months on the WTA tour, having played just over 30 matches in all since the 2021 French Open. Osaka's focus has been prioritizing her mental health and personal growth. Whenever she has played during the last year and a half, she has often struggled to find her best form.
There is a degree of uncertainty regarding Osaka's tennis future, but McEnroe hopes Osaka can regain her motivation as a tennis player as she has a bigger impact on the women's tour than most others. He further said that World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is undoubtedly the best player currently, but is not as impactful.
"Right now, there's nobody that really moves the needle in women's tennis," Patrick McEnroe said on a recent episode of the Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe podcast.
"Coco Gauff can and will, when and if she becomes a multiple Slam champion. Iga Swiatek is clearly the best player in the world, but she doesn't certainly move the needle, atleast in this country...Someone like Osaka is hugely important for the women's tennis tour in the next 5 years," McEnroe suggested.
Naomi Osaka played just 23 singles matches on the WTA tour throughout the 2022 season, winning 14 and losing nine of those matches. Her last appearance this year came at the Japan Open in September. She is currently languishing at No. 42 in the WTA rankings.
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Naomi Osaka was ranked the second-most marketable tennis player and sixth-most marketable athlete in the world, according to a recent report published and released by SportsPro. Among tennis players, Osaka was second only to Serena Williams and beat the likes of Emma Raducanu, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic, among others.
She fell from second place last year to sixth place this year, but her ranking this year is still commendable, particularly given the challenges she faced on tour with a loss in form and battle with injury issues. The 25-year-old's best result this year was a run to the Miami Open final.