Osaka finds peace in defeat as Sabalenka ends Paris run

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

Now, after years marked by mental health struggles, long breaks from tennis and motherhood, the Japanese former world No. 1 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.