Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka is enjoying his final season on the tennis tour before retiring. In December, the former world No. 3 announced plans to end his career at the conclusion of the 2026 season, but did not name exactly when and where he would call it quits.
Wawrinka has since returned to some tournaments that mean a lot to him. He reached the third round of the Australian Open, where he is a former champion, and won matches in Montpellier, Rotterdam and Dubai. But the 2014 Monte Carlo Masters champion was unable to get off the mark in Monaco, losing his opening match to Sebastian Baez on Monday.
The 41-year-old got a wildcard into the tournament but suffered a 7-5 7-5 defeat in the first round. Wawrinka will be back in action next week in Barcelona, where he’s picked up another wildcard, and has a few other tournaments in his sights for his final season on tour.
“I’m playing next week Barcelona, then probably Rome [qualifying], Geneva. I will see if I have the chance to play French Open, Roland Garros,” Wawrinka said.
The Swiss star is currently ranked just outside of the top 100 so will be on the cusp of the main-draw cut off for the French Open. If he doesnt get in on his own ranking, as a former champion, Wawrinka is a likely candidate for a wildcard.
Beyond that, the former world No. 3 also has hopes of playing one final Wimbledon. However, he may also need a wildcard from the All England Club, depending on where his ranking is at when the entry list is determined.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament Wawrinka has not won – he’s never been beyond the quarter-finals – so the 41-year-old would need to hope that tournament organisers believe his status as a former No. 3 and multi-Slam champion is enough to grant him a wildcard.
He added: “I would love to play something on the grass. Hopefully Wimbledon. Then I play Gstaad, Estoril. Hopefully I can play US Open. We will see if I play a tournament before. Cincinnati [qualifying] or maybe a Challenger. After, we’ll see. Lyon, Basel, for sure. The rest, we’ll see. It’s too far.”
The ATP 500 event in Basel is staged in one of the final weeks of the season on Wawrinka’s home turf, so it seems an obvious choice for his farewell tournament. But the current world No. 104 is also eyeing another event.
“There is a big chance [I will retire] there. Let’s see. Depends what’s the tournament after. Last year I played Athens. It was great, great, great tournament. I really enjoyed that. So might play the last one there. We’ll see,” he smiled.
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