"You can’t be a part-time player in your early to mid or even late 20s today, Naomi Osaka is not Serena Williams" - Patrick McEnroe

Patrick McEnroe recently opined that Naomi Osaka should play tennis more regularly given she lacks Serena Williams' ability to maintain her star power without playing for long periods.

Osaka has not been seen in action since September last year when she competed at the Toray Pan Pacific Ocean. The Japanese only featured in 11 tournaments last year, playing a total of 26 matches out of which she only won 15. As a result, the four-time Major champion now finds herself ranked No. 47 in the world.

She stayed away from tennis for large parts of last season due to injuries as well as personal reasons. More recently, Naomi Osaka pulled out of the 2023 Australian Open.

In 2021, the Japanese ace revealed that she has been suffering from depression since 2018, which saw her sit out of numerous events that year too.

As such, speaking to Peter Bodo of Tennis.com, Patrick McEnroe stated that Osaka cannot afford to sit out for long periods as frequently as she does.

“You can’t be a part-time player in your early to mid or even late 20s today. Naomi is not Serena. She (Williams) is one of a kind with a unique ability, and the confidence to do it," McEnroe said.

“There’s no doubt that [Osaka] was born to play tennis. You can hear it in the sound of how she hits the ball," he added.

---

"If you’re a Nike athlete but not playing, it doesn’t do Nike any good" - Former Nike's Director of Tennis on Naomi Osaka's prolonged absence

Naomi Osaka at the 2022 US Open

Mike Nakajima, who until 2017 served as Nike’s Director of Tennis for North America, also gave his thoughts on Naomi Osaka's frequent breaks from tennis from a sponsor's perspective.

Nakajima stated that brands must have their star athletes be on the field as much as possible given it increases brand exposure.

“If you’re a Nike athlete but not playing, it doesn’t do Nike any good. The No. 1 thing for us has always been exposure—to show someone like Naomi hitting a tennis ball, or holding up a trophy," Nakajima said.

Naomi Osaka was named the highest-earning female athlete in 2021 by Forbes. She earned a whopping $57.3 million over that year, with $55 million of those coming from her endorsements, sponsorships, and other off-court commitments.

Nakajima explained that star athletes such as Osaka only secure their income from multi-million dollar deals if they meet contractual targets. This often requires a set number of on-court appearances.

“All those millions of dollars people talk about may only kick in if a player hits all these high bonus targets, but that’s often still the number that will be leaked to the press. A lot of times we’ll look at those numbers and say, ‘That’s funny, that’s a little different from what we end up negotiating," he added.