Stan Wawrinka played the last match of his career on 27 October 2026. The 41-year-old Swiss, who won three Grand Slam singles titles and beat the reigning world No. 1 in each of those finals, lost 7-5, 7-6(2) to Jiri Lehecka in the first round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel, the night after the tournament held a tribute to him.
He arrived in Lyon this week on a wild card and beat Martin Landaluce, 21 years his junior, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5) in 2 hours, 46 minutes, on his fifth match point. It was his 12th tour-level win since turning 40, the most by any player, ahead of Ivo Karlovic’s nine and Jimmy Connors’s eight. On court afterwards he said the win was what pleased him most, after a year of losing several very tight matches.
Early Years
Wawrinka began playing tennis at eight. His father, Wolfram, is German and his mother, Isabelle, is Swiss; his parents work on an organic farm that employs and supports people with disabilities. He turned professional in 2002 and had right knee surgery in February 2007.
His first major title came in doubles. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he and Roger Federer won the men’s doubles gold medal. Four years later he carried the Swiss flag at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. For how the Olympic event is run, see our Olympic tennis explainer.
The 2014 Breakthrough
Wawrinka’s career turned in Melbourne in January 2014. He beat Novak Djokovic in a five-set classic on the way and then Rafael Nadal, the world No. 1, who was injured during the final, to win the Australian Open. He reached his career-high ranking of No. 3 that year.
The same year he beat Federer in the final at Monte-Carlo for his only Masters 1000 title, and he and Federer helped Switzerland win its first and only Davis Cup title.
Paris and New York
Djokovic was world No. 1 for Wawrinka’s next two major finals, and he lost both. Wawrinka beat him in the 2015 Roland Garros final and again in the 2016 US Open final. The one-handed backhand did much of the damage in both, and it is the shot the Swiss Indoors chose to single out when it announced his farewell.
Those three titles were part of a run of 11 straight finals won from 2014 to 2016, and he finished each of those three seasons at No. 4. He has five wins over the world No. 1 at Grand Slams in all. He is also one of three men to have beaten Djokovic, Federer, Andy Murray and Nadal at Grand Slams; the others are Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Swiss television viewers named him Swiss of the Year in 2013, and he was elected Swiss Sportsman of the Year in 2015. On tour he is known as Stan the Man and Stanimal.
Surgeries and the Long Way Back
Wawrinka played 50 straight Grand Slams before his body stopped him. He won the title in Geneva in 2017, his 16th and last, then had two operations on his left knee in August that year, missed the US Open and ended his season. In 2021 he had two operations on his left foot, in March and June.
He kept playing through his late 30s, but he did not reach another Grand Slam quarterfinal after the 2020 Australian Open.
The Farewell Season
Wawrinka announced his retirement plan in December 2025. “Every book needs an ending. It’s time to write the final chapter of my career as a professional tennis player. 2026 will be my last year on tour,” he wrote on social media.
He started it at the United Cup, where Switzerland reached the final. At the Australian Open he played on a wild card, beat Laslo Djere and then Arthur Gea 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) in 4 hours, 33 minutes. That made him, at 40, the oldest man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since Ken Rosewall, at 44, in Melbourne in 1978. It was also the 58th five-set match of his career, the most of any player in the Open Era. He lost to Taylor Fritz in four sets in the third round.
“Knowing that it’s my last Australian Open, my last year, it’s really special,” Wawrinka said in Melbourne.
In May the Swiss Indoors confirmed Basel as the end point. “He would have liked to keep playing forever. But Basel marks the end of the line for three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka as he says goodbye to the game,” the tournament said. That announcement was followed by the schedule: a tribute show at 6 p.m. on Monday 26 October, a first-round match in the evening session on Tuesday 27 October and, if he wins, a second-round match on Thursday 29 October.
Grand Slam Best Results
- Australian Open: Champion (2014)
- Roland Garros: Champion (2015)
- Wimbledon: Quarterfinals (2014, 2015)
- US Open: Champion (2016)
Season Snapshot (as of 28 October 2026)
- Ranking: No. 140 going into his final tournament
- Career tour-level wins: 590, final total
- 2026 highlights: United Cup final with Switzerland; Australian Open third round as a wild card; Lyon second round as a wild card, beating Martin Landaluce
- Status: Retired. His final match was a 7-5, 7-6(2) first-round loss to eighth seed Jiri Lehecka at the Swiss Indoors Basel on 27 October 2026, his 19th appearance at the tournament
This snapshot is dated and will change. The career record above does not.
