Resigns at the end of 2026: Stan Wawrinka.
David Emm / Imago
It had been expected for a long time. But now, a few days before Christmas, Stan Wawrinka clarified things. The 40-year-old from French-speaking Switzerland announced via social networks that 2026 would be his last year on the ATP tour. He wrote: “Every book needs an ending. It’s time to write the final chapter in my career as a professional tennis player.”
This was followed by the keywords: Perseverance, Ambition, Sacrifice, Success, Injuries, Obsession, Never give up. If you form a word from the first letters of the keywords, “Passion” is created.
In 2014, Wawrinka steps out of Federer’s shadow
Nothing distinguished the tennis player from Lausanne more than passion. As a junior, he won the Roland-Garros youth tournament and thus attracted attention for the first time. Wawrinka then moved his residence from French-speaking Switzerland to Spain, where he specifically worked on his professional career.
But initially he was in the overwhelming shadow of Roger Federer. For a long time he was known abroad as “the other Swiss”. That only changed in 2014, when he won the Australian Open in Melbourne, the first of his three major titles. Roland-Garros followed in 2015 and the US Open in 2016, and with that Wawrinka was finally rid of Federer’s shadow.
Together with the Basel bidder, he later won Olympic gold in doubles (2008) and the Davis Cup (2014). On these two occasions he showed that he was more than just an appendage of Federer. He even overtook him in the ATP rankings and moved up to third place.
The only thing missing from Wawrinka’s palmarès is the triumph at Wimbledon. It is unlikely that he will close this gap next year, his last on the tour – even if he plays there again with a wild card. The late phase of his career was marked by several serious injuries. After that, Wawrinka never found the kick again. In the season that ended, he only won four games. In the ranking he is still in 157th place, and yet he is still the best-ranked Swiss.
What carried him through this difficult phase was his belief in himself. Who knows what he would have been capable of if he hadn’t had to spend most of his career in Federer’s shadow.
His father Wolfram said in an interview with the NZZ a little over a year ago: “Federer was not an obstacle for Stan. Rather, he saw it as a motor that continually drove him to achieve his best. Stan was also always impressed by how Federer dealt with his successes and how he mastered their downsides.
Wawrinka himself found it increasingly difficult to cope with the illusory world of the tennis tour, which had been his home for the last two decades. Growing up on a farm near Lausanne, where his family gave people with disabilities a purpose in life, he learned values that also accompanied him in sport.
The rivalry with Novak Djokovic
Paris was a special place for him, and not just because he had triumphed there as a young player. There he won his second major title in the best match of his career against Novak Djokovic. Wawrinka has more than just a rivalry with the Serb. The two have great respect for each other. Djokovic recently said that what Wawrinka has achieved and is still achieving is far too little appreciated.
Wawrinka says Djokovic always got the best out of him. “I also repeatedly played big games against Federer and Rafael Nadal. Obviously the three of them brought out the best in me.” Djokovic’s way of playing seems to suit him, it is more difficult for him to play against Nadal. «It’s almost impossible to find the rhythm against him. And Federer was just Federer. The psychological aspect also came into play. He’s a legend.”
So now Wawrinka is starting his last year on the tennis tour. He will start it at the beginning of January at the United Cup in Australia alongside Belinda Bencic. Where he will perform later also depends on the goodwill of the tournament organizers.
Related reading
