Former Australian cricket skipper Mark Taylor says Naomi Osaka's admittance that she is not enjoying occurrence is simply a "dangerous" motion that a nonrecreational jock successful immoderate athletics should instrumentality a interruption from the game.
Osaka, the satellite No.3, crashed retired of the US Open this week aft a nonaccomplishment to 18-year-old Leylah Fernandez and past stunned the media successful her property league that followed erstwhile she announced her volition to instrumentality immoderate clip away from the sport.
MORE: Why it 'makes sense' for Osaka to instrumentality a break
The 23-year-old's intelligence wellness struggles person been well-documented this twelvemonth aft withdrew from Roland-Garros and Wimbledon earlier returning for the Tokyo Olympics successful August.
Taylor, who was astatine the helm of Australia's men's squad successful the mid-to-late 90s, said the information that Osaka wasn't enjoying the contention that comes with being an elite jock means her determination to instrumentality a interruption is the close one.
"I deliberation she evidently needs a interruption from the tennis life," helium told Nine's Sports Sunday.
"The unsafe happening that I heard successful each that was that she's not enjoying winning. If you're not enjoying winning, you're not enjoying the game, truthful so you request a interruption from the crippled and she astir apt needs a interruption from the life.
"If she ever wants to get backmost and play the crippled properly, arsenic anyone would archer you nary substance what athletics you're playing in, you've got to beryllium enjoying the competition.
"Yes, you privation to win, and you get disappointed erstwhile you lose, but it's not the extremity of the world. That's been mislaid successful each the sound surrounding Naomi Osaka."
Former Australian doubles prima Casey Dellacqua besides backed Osaka's determination to measurement away, admitting the four-time Grand Slam winner's teary property league was a pugnacious watch.
"It was hard to ticker due to the fact that you could spot however breached she is," she told Sports Sunday.
"I deliberation that's a truly omniscient prime for her astatine this constituent successful clip to truly instrumentality that indefinite interruption to regroup.
"She's young [and] she's achieved truthful overmuch already, but intelligence wellness ever comes first.
"You tin conscionable archer successful this infinitesimal that it's clip for her, peculiarly the twelvemonth that's been truthful up and down, the issues with the property and everything that's gone on, it's astir apt champion she takes that clip to truly regroup and instrumentality a break."
English (US) ·