Osaka is under monumental pressure, says Croft

Annabel Croft a former player turned commentator shares her views on future of women's tennis.

Annabel Croft was one of the leading women's singles players in the 1980s. The former British player, who reached a career high ranking of 24 in 1985, is now a prominent tennis commentator.
A regular at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Croft, in an interview with Khaleej Times, opened up on the future of women's tennis and Naomi Osama - the first Asian to be ranked world number one and the youngest woman since Martina Hingis to win back-to-back Grand Slams.
Q: Not many players have come close to dominating the sport the way the Williams sisters, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters did. What has changed?
A: I know it's a cliché, but it's the strength and depth in women's Tour. We have so many different Grand Slam winners now. You know somebody like (Jelena) Ostapenko, who had never won a Tour title, won the French Open two years ago ranked 20 something in the world. A win like that makes everybody else believe that they can win a Grand Slam.
So it has given an enormous belief to some of the younger players. I think they are less intimidated when they go on court against some of the top players.
Also some of the top players have had some very fluctuating results. Somebody like (Garbine) Muguruza. She plays amazing tennis when she is on fire, but she goes in and out. I think maintaining an extremely high level has proved very difficult. Also they are a lot of young players. They play the same style, lot of power, they are very athletic. But it's not going to be easy for one player to dominate.
Q: Naomi Osaka broke down at the press conference after losing her first match in Dubai. Is she feeling the weight of expectations after becoming world number one at 21 and winning back-to-back Grand Slams?
A: It's absolutely monumental pressure. I think none of us can understand it. Coming from Japan, she has even more pressure and expectations because of the contracts and the money. You know she is very refreshingly honest. She is very well-loved by the press because she speaks from the heart. I think that's going to help her. But I think she is going to need an enormous amount of support from her family and whoever she picks as her coach because they are really going to have to try to get her mindset into a place where she can cope with these expectations and pressure because it's not easy. We have seen it before with world number ones like Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic. They struggled to cope with the expectations.
Q: So being number one is not exactly easy.
A: It's a totally different thing when you are hunting as opposed to when you are hunted. You can't explain it to anyone unless they are in that position. So many world number ones have talked very openly about it. Marin Cilic talked about it when he was number two in the world. He said suddenly the opponents were playing free tennis because there was no pressure on them to win. He said it felt different. It was like a double-edged sword.
Q: Osaka is obviously so talented. If she manages to cope with the pressure, do you think she could go on to win many more Slams? Women's tennis needs a big star now that Serena may not be around much longer.
A: I think it was noticeable how full the stands were in Dubai when she played. I think that was because the headlines the scenario at the US Open created took the sport off the back pages and it created a lot of hype. I think there's a lot of interest about her as a human being aside from tennis, so that's been a positive thing for women's tennis because it has created more interest. She is definitely one that can draw a lot of people in. But I think there are many other players that are coming up too.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com