2026 will be the last season for “Stanimal”, a career in the shadow of the Fab Four
“I tried. I failed. It doesn’t matter. I’ll try again. I’ll fail better.” It is Samuel Beckett’s phrase tattooed on Stan Wawrinka’s arm, a warning, a reminder: to reach the highest possible heights you have to fall and learn from mistakes. Especially in an era governed by three (plus Murray) monsters, defeat is the order of the day, and it is necessary to learn to live with it, treat it like an old friend… and slowly move away from it. Stan, who became “Stan The Man” or “Stanimal” after the age of 30, taught that it is never too late to change your life, to join the immortals. He did it at 29 years old, after a good career but like many others. After trying and failing more times than he succeeded. But in the end the failures became goals, to be looked at and cherished with pride at the threshold of 41 years, at the dawn of his last season as a professional.