“But unfortunately, bringing mental health to the forefront, while it’s a great idea and obviously during this pandemic for citizens all over world, it’s gotta be something that’s looked at, but now we’re gonna be discussing it more.”

“How’s she gonna handle losing matches? Losing early?” 66-year-old American McEnroe added. “Is she gonna play a lot of events before the French open? Will she play Wimbledon? She’s gonna be talked about quite a bit.

“She has more light on her, so she’s gotta be prepared to handle that, or she’s not gonna be playing a lot of tennis events.”

Osaka withdrew from last year’s French Open after being fined and threatened with expulsion for refusing to do media duties, which she said had contributed to the depression she had struggled with for years.

The 24-year-old Japanese star, who also skipped Wimbledon in 2021, seemed in good spirits in her post-match press conference at Melbourne Park, after her title defence had been ended.

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“I’m not God, I can’t win every match,” Osaka said. “I have to take that into account, and I know it would be nice to win the tournament and that would be special. I feel I grew a lot in this match.

“The last match I played in New York, I had a completely different attitude. I lost but I’m happy with how it went.”

Seven-time major winner McEnroe, however, felt Osaka perhaps did not give her best effort, pointing to the way Rafael Nadal dug deep to persevere after losing the third set against Russia’s Karen Khachanov in Friday’s final match on Rod Laver Arena.

“The fact we’re complimenting her about fighting a lot worries me, because that should be par for the course,” McEnroe said. “The issue should not be whether you’re able to compete – give your best, for God’s sakes, that’s what sport is about.

“We just watched Nadal play – all players, male and female, should try to emulate the attitude he’s got. He acts like he’s never won anything, and the guy’s got 20 majors. He plays every point like it’s his last. Look at [Nick] Kyrgios, he looks like he tries half the time, we can’t be celebrating that.”

In her post-match press conference, 20-year-old Anisimova praised Osaka for her authenticity and the way she has spoken out on mental health issues.

“I think she’s really inspiring. What she’s done the last couple of years is amazing, and just how authentic she is,” Anisimova told reporters. “It was really cool to finally play her today. She just tells the truth about how she feels. I know she’s gone through a really tough year last year, so I kind of feel for her today.

“I’ve gone through a couple of hard years, and I don’t mind posting stuff on social media and just try to spread awareness for people who are also going through tough things. I think it’s great to be relatable to other people who follow us.”

McEnroe’s fellow former world No 1 Mats Wilander, who also won seven grand slam titles, also questioned Osaka’s performance in the Eurosport studio.

“I’m not sure if we’re ever gonna see the great Naomi Osaka who’s gonna win grand slams again,” the Swede said. “But it’s important we’re gonna realise it’s gonna be tough or her.

“Should we help her by laying off a little bit? I think for Naomi, she’s gonna have to revaluate a little bit, ‘Why am I out here playing? Do I care, do I not care? Do I want to win another slam? Four or five, does it matter?’”

“That’s the hard part,” he added. “Travelling so much, having a sport psychologist is definitely gonna help. It’s gonna be a tough road, but we shouldn’t expect the Naomi of old to be back. She needs to look forward.”

Wilander agreed with McEnroe on the amount of effort that players need to be showing as a bare minimum.

“No 1 in your contract with the Tour is you need to try as hard as you can every single point and every single match,” he said. “If not, you have to make it look like you are. That’s what we should ask players to do. Rafa Nadal is such a great role model.”

Additional reporting by Reuters