ATP Tour

Wawrinka bids farewell to tennis in Basel: ‘It’s an ideal ending’

Stan Wawrinka gave everything he had until the very end, and at 41 years of age, the Swiss legend finally called time on a remarkable tennis career on Tuesday night at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

After spending his farewell season saying goodbye to the tournaments that shaped his journey, Wawrinka saved one of the most emotional farewells for last, bringing his career to a close in Basel, surrounded by his family, team and friends. As the former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings and three-time major champion reflected, it was an opportunity to appreciate everything tennis had given him and to leave the sport on his own terms.

“I have always dreamed of being able to finish feeling good, being competitive, and that's what I was able to do,” Wawrinka said in French during his post-match press conference on Tuesday night. “This year has been amazing with a great amount of emotion, a lot of sadness at every tournament where you say goodbye. But it has been much more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed, than I could have imagined.

“I have received so much love, I have lived through so many emotions in my last year at 41, feeling competitive. I have played top players, I have played young players as well. I have had very good matches. For me, it’s an ideal ending.”

The emotions had already been flowing on Monday evening, when Wawrinka was honoured with a farewell ceremony on centre court at the ATP 500 event. Addressing a packed arena, he reflected on his career before receiving messages from former rivals such as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, alongside heartfelt tributes from his parents.

“To have this chance of having a ceremony like the one yesterday, with so much love from the crowd, the fans, the tournament, from all the people who have been there all these years, is not something I could have imagined a few years ago,” Wawrinka said. “And therefore, there are tears; of course, tomorrow there will be a hangover — not just because of the alcohol, not necessarily because of alcohol, but because of the sadness. But when you are an athlete, you know that it happens one day.”

Wawrinka emerged as a Grand Slam titlist in his late twenties, defeating the World No. 1 in the final of each of his three major triumphs: Rafael Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open, Djokovic at the 2015 French Open and Djokovic again at the 2016 US Open. His powerful backhand and willingness to take the game to the biggest names made him one of the most formidable opponents of his generation.

Yet, as the final moments of his career approached, the numbers and trophies took a back seat to the experience of being on court.

With Wawrinka serving at 2/6 in the second-set tie-break against Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday night, the Swiss took one last opportunity to soak in the atmosphere, looking around the arena and absorbing the support of the Basel crowd before the final point brought his playing career to an end.

“Before the match point, we hope to serve an ace,” Wawrinka joked. “But we also look one last time at the crowd, we look at the atmosphere, we record, we take screenshots of everything that’s happening. We try to capture this energy that I am lucky to receive.

“For me, above all, what I have loved is experiencing emotions on the court… When I arrived here for the first time in 2003, I would have never dreamed of living this. Once again, for me, I have been very lucky throughout my career and I am super happy about it.”

That connection with the crowd was a constant throughout Wawrinka’s journey. Even as injuries and the physical demands of the sport made the final years increasingly challenging, he continued to compete with the same determination.

During his career, Wawrinka won 16 tour-level titles, notched 590 match wins, and claimed an Olympic gold medal won alongside Federer in doubles in Beijing in 2008. But when asked to look back on the moments that meant the most, Wawrinka was quick to highlight that representing Switzerland in the Davis Cup, which he ultimately won in 2014.

“I’m lucky to have many choices,” Wawrinka said. “I can name a lot. Of course, the Grand Slam titles are there. When I started my career, my dream was to be able to play the Grand Slams, to be part of the Top 100, to be able to progress. But one of the dreams that was very high was to be able to play in the Davis Cup. The Davis Cup has always made me dream.”

Basel gave him one final stage on which to say goodbye, and the Swiss crowd ensured he did not leave without feeling the full weight of their gratitude. The final result belonged to Lehecka, but the evening was about Wawrinka.