- John McEnroe said he worried Naomi Osaka could end up quitting tennis like his rival Bjorn Borg did.
- In the 1980s, at 26, Borg retired suddenly, saying he no longer enjoyed tennis and was burned out.
- "I think Osaka's feeling something similar right now," McEnroe said on his brother's "Holding Court" podcast.
John McEnroe said on Wednesday that he was worried that Naomi Osaka could end up quitting tennis like his old rival Bjorn Borg did, saying the sport had mishandled Osaka's media blackout and mental-health concerns.
Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday. She had been fined $15,000 for not attending a press conference following her first-round win over Patricia Maria Țig on Sunday.
In the week before Roland-Garros kicked off, Osaka, 23, said she wouldn't speak to reporters at the tournament in order to protect her mental health. As she withdrew, she said she'd "suffered long bouts of depression" since 2018 and experienced "huge waves of anxiety" before speaking to the media.
The French Tennis Federation had threatened to default Osaka should she fail to fulfill her media commitments. The tournament's Twitter account also appeared to mock the Japanese star in a tweet that's since been deleted.
"I'm very concerned about our sport," McEnroe said on his brother Patrick's "Holding Court" podcast on Wednesday. "Even more so after what's transpired the last couple days.
"I thought that what Naomi did initially would give food for thought to the powers that be, but they felt they had to come back with something strong and intimidating, obviously, and what they did caused, to me, a lose-lose for everyone now.
"Naomi's decided not to play. She's laid bare her own feelings, which is good for us to know as just people — outsiders looking in. But the truth is that I think this is only going to bring more attention to it down the road, so that's going to be difficult for her."
McEnroe criticized tennis authorities' reaction to Osaka's media blackout, saying they'd gone too far.
"The powers that be didn't need to, in my opinion, take it to the level where they were threatening to default her. That would be a major negative for the sport. And that's what they did.
"It's one thing to fine a player — a player, obviously, like Osaka can afford it, and maybe that money could have gone to a good cause. But now what they've done, to me, exploded in their face."
McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slam titles, said the saga reminded him of when Borg suddenly quit tennis.
The Swede, an 11-time Grand Slam winner, had lost to McEnroe in the 1981 US Open final. He walked off the court without waiting for the trophy presentation.
After that he never played in a Grand Slam again, playing just one tournament in 1982, before retiring for good in 1983, aged 26.
Borg told The New York Times days after announcing his retirement that he was no longer enjoying the sport and was burned out.
McEnroe said he feared the same could happen with Osaka. "There's a danger that Osaka is not going to keep going," he said.
"Who knows what's going to happen with her? I feel really concerned, because Bjorn Borg was one of the best things that ever happened to our sport, and I feel like he was pushed out of the game.
"And I think Osaka's feeling something similar right now."
