Osaka finds peace in defeat as Sabalenka ends Paris run

PARIS, June 1 : A few years ago, a defeat on a Grand Slam stage could have sent Naomi Osaka spiralling into self-doubt and isolation.

Now, after years marked by mental health struggles, long breaks from tennis and motherhood, the Japanese former world number one walked away from Roland Garros with a positive perspective instead of pain.

Osaka’s French Open campaign ended on Monday with a 7-5 6-3 fourth-round defeat by top seed Aryna Sabalenka, but the 28-year-old left Paris describing herself as “enlightened” and at peace with the emotional swings that once consumed her career.

“I would be very, very disappointed in myself after matches like these,” Osaka told reporters.

“If I lost this match when I was younger, I’d shut myself in my room or whatever. But now I feel like obviously I love tennis, and I’m trying my best to do everything to be the best player I can.”

The four-time Grand Slam champion, who revealed struggles with depression and anxiety and returned in 2024 following the birth of her daughter, said her priorities had shifted beyond results and rankings.

“It’s kind of like a clock in/clock out type of thing,” she said.

“I’m excited to go home and see my daughter. Honestly, that’s kind of the happiest moments of life for me.”

Osaka arrived in Paris with modest expectations on clay, a surface that has often troubled her, but produced her best run at Roland Garros by reaching the fourth round for the first time.

While Sabalenka’s relentless power eventually proved too much under the lights of Court Philippe Chatrier, Osaka said she no longer viewed defeats as defining moments.

“I kind of realised that it doesn’t matter at all,” she said.

“The only thing I can keep doing is keep trying my best.”

Osaka’s relationship with tennis has evolved sharply since her 2021 withdrawal from the French Open, when she disclosed she had suffered “long bouts of depression” and criticised the tournament’s media obligations.

At the time, her openness triggered a broader conversation in sport about athlete mental health and media pressure.

On Monday night, however, Osaka spoke openly about the emotional recalibration that motherhood has brought her.

“Honestly, like, hitting a ball doesn’t really matter on earth, kind of,” she said with a smile.

The Japanese player said she was encouraged by her physical condition after a demanding claycourt campaign and hoped her progress on the surface would carry into the grasscourt season, even if she admitted she was reluctant to leave Paris just as she was beginning to feel comfortable on clay.

“I have to take the positives from it,” she said. “I played three really good matches.”

Osaka also welcomed the decision to schedule her match against Sabalenka in the night session, the first time in three years that a women’s contest took place in the prime time slot.

She said she hoped organisers would continue giving women a place in the tournament’s showcase slot.

“I am honoured that the tournament chose us to play in this slot,” she said. “I hope that going forward they will continue to do so.”