Stan Wawrinka, the 41-year-old Swiss tennis star, is set to retire at the end of the year, joining the list of legends embarking on a farewell tour. Wawrinka is calling time on a career that includes three Grand Slam wins, a Davis Cup title, an Olympic gold medal and 16 titles worldwide.
Following in Edberg’s Footsteps
There are parallels with Stefan Edberg, who announced in December that 1996 would be his final year as a professional. Edberg later said that announcing his decision added unnecessary pressure. He told Roger Federer the same thing in 2020 when the Swiss star was nearing the end of his career.
Edberg still had a good year, reaching the final at Queen’s and the quarter-finals in Rome. He reached the last 16 at Roland-Garros and the quarter-finals at the US Open. He finished the year ranked No 14.
Pressure to Offer Wildcards
Wawrinka’s announcement puts pressure on tournaments, especially Grand Slams, to give him a wildcard. Ranked just outside the top 100 after Monte-Carlo, he will need a wildcard for Roland-Garros. Unless he gets some more wins soon, he will need a wildcard for Wimbledon too.
Wawrinka performed well at Monte-Carlo, winning one match and pushing Sebastian Baez in round two.
Still Giving it His All
Wawrinka is still working hard and giving his all. The Swiss continues to play great tennis and deserves all the wildcards he gets. He said in Monte-Carlo that he needs to keep the mindset as a competitor if he wants to play the year full. Motivation to get up every day and do it all again is still there, even if he admits it can be tough sometimes.
On his best days, he was virtually unstoppable and his one-handed backhand should have a museum of its own. He deserves to be fated wherever he goes.