At the age of 40, Stan Wawrinka is tackling his last professional season - to the delight of his fans. However, the Frenchman is not taking it easy, he wants to show the "best Wawrinka" once again.
20.01.2026, 05:01
20.01.2026, 07:16
SDA
The tattoo on Stan Wawrinka's left forearm is now world-famous. "Tried again and again. Failed again and again. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." This is the famous quote by Irish poet Samuel Beckett. The Vaud native had it engraved in 2013 after losing an epic round of 16 match at the Australian Open against Novak Djokovic 10:12 in the fifth set.
For many, such a defeat would have been both a high point and the beginning of a decline. Not for Wawrinka. His tattoo turned out to be wrong. He tried again, but failed no more. A year later, he returned to Melbourne as a top ten player, this time defeating Djokovic in the quarter-finals (9:7 in the 5th set) and, to his own surprise, winning his first Grand Slam title - two more were to follow in Paris in 2015 and at the US Open in 2016.
No "farewell tour"
When he returned to the Australian Open for the 20th and final time as a soon-to-be retired tennis player, Wawrinka and his long-time coach and confidant Magnus Norman reflected on their careers in an interview with the ATP Tour website. It became clear that the 2014 Davis Cup winner and 2008 Olympic doubles champion will not betray his work ethic, even at the age of over 40. He doesn't like to hear the word "farewell tour", it doesn't correspond to his self-image.
"I'm not doing this to simply say goodbye," Wawrinka emphasizes. "I want to push my limits again, I still want to win matches, I want to get back into the top 100 once more." He demonstrated this impressively at the start of the Australian Open on Monday, when he had the better of world number 92 Laslo Djere and reached the second round for the first time in five years.
Much to the delight of the fans, who stood up and applauded even before the tiebreak in the fourth set. "This support gives me so much positive energy," said a moved Wawrinka in the on-court interview. "I have so many memories here, your love is the only reason I'm still coming." He will be able to do it at least one more time, in the 2nd round on Thursday against qualifier Arthur Géa.
Getting the maximum out of it
Even though he has once again worked very hard in preparation and is in good physical condition, the two-day break will do the 40-year-old good. Wawrinka knows that he will not be playing for any more Grand Slam titles, but that is not the decisive factor for him. "My whole career, my goal has been to get the maximum out of it," he explains. "I have succeeded in doing that." That is also what fans can expect from him this week and for the rest of the year. It is no longer the best Wawrinka of all time, but it is the best Wawrinka there can be at the moment.
Born for Grand Slam finals
The Vaud native from St-Barthélemy, a village of 600 people north of Lausanne, which is also home to football coach Lucien Favre, was one for the big moments at the peak of his career. Magnus Norman also emphasizes this. "Grand Slam champions have something that other players don't have," says the former world number 2 from Sweden. "I was in a Grand Slam final (French Open 2000, losing to Gustavo Kuerten) and the moment was too big for me. Stan could handle it. I think you have to be born for that."
However, Wawrinka is not above playing 29 matches on the second-tier Challenger Tour, as he did last year. The fans love him there too, he can soak up their energy. It is Wawrinka's other extraordinary quality that sets him apart and that Norman emphasizes. "He is simply a good person with strong values," he emphasizes to the ATP website. "He's humble and treats everyone the same, whether he wins or loses, whether he's the jack, the number 1 or the cleaning lady."
That won't change in his last year as a professional. And that's another reason why the fans love him.
