"There's nobody that really moves the needle in women's tennis right now" - Osaka 'hugely important' according to McEnroe

Patrick McEnroe said that Naomi Osaka is hugely important for tennis because nobody really moves the needle as much as she does.

It's a sentiment similar to the one his brother John has about Nick Kyrgios and it's been proven true. Both Kyrgios and Osaka are huge crowd magnets even if they are not playing well or are not ranked in the top of tennis.

He discussed the Japanese player in his podcast where he expressed his hope that she returns to her best:

"Right now, there's nobody that really moves the needle in women's tennis."

He explained further by adding:

"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."

Her last event was the Tokyo Open as she hasn't played since then.