Stan Wawrinka’s professional career is over, with the three-time grand slam champion and 2014 Australian Open winner beaten 7-5, 7-6 (2) by Jiri Lehecka in the first round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
The 41-year-old Swiss played his final match on Tuesday night in Basel (Wednesday morning AEDT) at his home tournament, where the eighth-seeded Czech ended a career that began in 2002, AP reported.
Wawrinka announced last December that 2026 would be his last season on tour. His last shot as a professional was a backhand that landed wide, to the audible disappointment of the home crowd, before he was given a standing ovation and took a lap of honour.
Playing on a wildcard, Wawrinka was making his 19th main-draw appearance in Basel, equalling Roger Federer’s tournament record, Tennis Majors reported.
Close to the end
Wawrinka had chances in the opening set, earning two break points in the sixth game, but Lehecka saved both. The Swiss was broken while serving at 5-5, and Lehecka served out the set.
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Wawrinka held serve throughout the second set to force a tiebreak, but Lehecka won the last five points from 2-2 and converted his first match point.
Three slams in the ‘Big Three’ era
Wawrinka won all three of his grand slam titles by beating the world No.1 in the final, the ATP Tour said. He beat Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open at Melbourne Park, then beat Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2015 French Open and the 2016 US Open.
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He reached a career-high ranking of No.3 in 2014, the same year he beat Federer in the Monte-Carlo final for his only Masters 1000 title. He finished with 16 tour-level titles and 590 tour-level match wins.
Wawrinka also won Olympic doubles gold with Federer at the 2008 Beijing Games and helped Switzerland win the Davis Cup in 2014.
‘Without any regrets’
“For me, all I wanted in my career was to give everything, to have no regrets, to always fight, to always give 100 per cent in every match — out of respect for myself, for the opponent, for the tournament, for the fans, for everybody,” Wawrinka told the ATP Tour website ahead of his final match.
“That was always the most important thing for more than 20 years, and that’s the only way you can leave the sport: without any regrets.”
His farewell season started with a run to the third round of the Australian Open in January.
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