Stan Wawrinka announces retirement: he will stop playing in 2026

Stan Wawrinka also made it to his last dance. Indeed, as he says, to his “one last push”. The Swiss tennis player, 40, announced via social media that 2026 will be the last chance to see him in action, his last year on the tour. Then, the retreat. “One Last Push, all books need an end. Now it’s time to write the last chapter of my career as a professional tennis player. 2026 will be my last year on the tour – wrote Wawrinka on social media -. Dreams and passion, my journey was formed from these characteristics. I still want to push my limits and finish the journey in the best possible way. I still have dreams in this sport. I have appreciated every single part of everything that tennis has given me, especially the emotions I feel playing in front of the fans. I want to see you one last time in the whole world.”

the decline

—

For years the former world number three was no longer competitive, but Wawrinka is a player who has given fans all over the world one of the five most beautiful backhands (strictly one-handed) in history of tennis and some of the most exciting matches of the last 15 years. One player, Stan, exploded relatively late, but the explosion was definitely felt. Three slams in the era of the Big Three, like Andy Murray, three finals won against Novak Djokovic (two) and Rafael Nadal. The Serbian was beaten, or rather beaten, at the 2015 Roland Garros and the 2016 US Open, the Spaniard swept away at the 2014 Australian Open. Plus, an Olympic gold in doubles with Roger Federer in Beijing 2008 and a Davis Cup with his Switzerland in 2014, sixteen tournaments and a 1000 in Monte Carlo. Not a champion of continuity, Wawrinka, but at his peaks he had very few equals, especially if we talk about his backhand, a shot of sublime beauty and tremendous effectiveness. Stan’s leap in quality, after a few years of ups and downs in and out of the top 10, came thanks to Magnus Norman, who fixed his forehand, which became almost as solid as his backhand, and his serve. The first signs came in 2013, when he forced Novak Djokovic to a fifth set in Australia, in one of the best matches that Rod Laver has remembered in recent years. In 2014 it was Stan who gave Nole the first defeat in Melbourne after 3 years of absolute domination.

the relationship with sinner

—

In recent years, between serious injuries and age, Wawrinka’s career had inevitably taken a turn for the worse. Together with Nole and Cilic, he was the last of the golden generation in tennis pre-Sinner and Alcaraz, the one that still doesn’t give up on identity and reason. Here, speaking of Jannik, a contrasting relationship with the South Tyrolean. At the beginning of his career Stan was one of Sinner’s biggest supporters, with many compliments and messages of esteem and encouragement. In 2019 they met in the first round of the US Open, with Jannik just 18 years old, Wawrinka won in four sets but at the end of the match he showered the Italian with praise, promising him a bright career. Which then happened. Lately, however, something seems to have changed and Stan’s words towards the current world number 2 are no longer so sweet. Wawrinka was very harsh on the Clostebol case: “The management of the Sinner case was bad for tennis. Wrong communication that caused a loss of credibility, if you really look for positive players or in the end it all boils down to having a good lawyer who gets you out in the best possible way”, some of the certainly not conciliatory words of the Swiss. Stan also placed, in a personal preference ranking, Sinner in tenth place out of ten among his favorite tennis players. However, the relationship with the South Tyrolean changes little in the economics of Wawrinka’s career. A man who challenged the giants. Sometimes even beating them.