Why Stan Wawrinka's last dance will be more salsa than slow waltz
A farewell tour?
That’s not a phrase that sits well with Stan Wawrinka as he begins his 25th and final season on the ATP Tour.
Send your well wishes and accolades and they will be received politely and with appreciation. But Switzerland’s other tennis treasure is determined to crown - rather than tarnish - one of the finest careers of the past 20 years by doing in 2026 what he does best: fighting with all his might to win as many matches as possible.
For evidence, look no further than Wawrinka’s season opener at the United Cup in Perth: Toiling for three hours and 18 minutes in baking heat, the 40-year-old rallied from a set down to upset Top 30 Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in a third-set tie-break. It was a spirited victory - the 583rd of his career - that backed up his comments just one day earlier to ATPTour.com.
“I'm good with my decision to announce this is my last year, but I'm not doing a year just to say goodbye,” Wawrinka said. “I'm a competitor. I want to push my limit, I want to still fight against good players. I want to still win matches. I want to try to be back at the Top 100 at 40 years old.
“Throughout my career I do feel like I maximised everything I could; that always has been my goal and it's still on for the last year. It was always to push my own limits and I achieved way more than I could dream when I was young."
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Despite more than two decades on Tour, the three-time Grand Slam champion remains a fierce competitor at his core. Why else would he grind through 29 ATP Challenger matches in 2025 as his PIF ATP Ranking [now 157] languished well outside the Top 100 and kept him off the main tour for extended periods?
“He likes the hard work and the tough lifestyle, pushing his body to the physical and mental limits,” said longtime coach Magnus Norman this week in Perth. "And he likes to perform in front of people. At the Napoli Challenger last year the crowd was really into the matches. For him it doesn’t matter if it’s a Challenger or a Grand Slam."
Wawrinka, a winner of 16 titles, concurs: “I'm lucky enough to have had the chance to win Slams and play on the biggest stages, but just the emotion I get from playing a match, the feeling from the competition and playing in front of people is the same even when you play on the small courts. When you’re passionate about what you're doing, the stadium doesn’t matter.”
ATP Challengers are a far cry from the centre courts of Roland Garros and the Australian and US Opens where Wawrinka inked his legacy. With Norman by his side, Wawrinka won majors for three consecutive years between 2014-2016: at Melbourne Park in 2014, Roland Garros in 2015 and in the cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2016.
Norman shared a favourite memory of Wawrinka's final Grand Slam triumph, a four-set win over Novak Djokovic in the 2016 US Open final. As the referee called the finalists to assemble for their escort to the court, the Swede delivered an emotional speech.
“He had been playing very good tennis and I thought he would have a good match, but against Novak you’re not sure if it will be enough," Norman said. "I told him that no matter what happens, that I’m so proud of what he had done.”
The words moved Wawrinka to tears, which then brought Norman to tears.
“The referee is calling the match and we’re both in the lockerroom crying. But it was what we needed because there had been a lot of tension. It was a little bit of a release for both of us,” Norman added.
