Why Stan Wawrinka’s last dance will be a salsa rather than a slow waltz | ATP Tour
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Why Stan Wawrinka’s last dance will be a salsa rather than a slow waltz
ATPtour.com talks to Wawrinka and longtime coach Magnus Norman at the United Cup in Perth
January 04, 2026
2026 Getty Images
Stan Wawrinka works hard for more than three hours to win his first match of his 2026 farewell season at the United Cup in Perth.
Written by Paul Macpherson
A farewell tour?
That’s not a very good phrase for Stan Wawrinka as he turns 25th and last season on the ATP Tour.
Send your best wishes and compliments and they will be received with courtesy and appreciation. But in Switzerland the rest tennis treasure is determined to be crowned – without harming – one of the best jobs of the last 20 years by doing in 2026 what he does best: fighting with all his might to win as many games as possible.
For proof, look no further than Wawrinka’s season opener at the United Cup in Perth: Toiling for three hours and 18 minutes in scorching heat, the 40-year-old rallied from the floor to upset French Top 30 Arthur Rinderknech in the third break. It was an emphatic victory – the 583rd of his career – that backed up his comments a day earlier on ATPTour.com.
“I’m happy with my decision to announce that this is my last year, but I’m not doing a year to say goodbye,” said Wawrinka. “I’m a competitor, I want to go beyond my limits, I still want to fight with high-level players, I still want to win games, I want to try to get back into the Top 100 at the age of 40.
“Throughout my career I feel like I’ve done everything I could; that’s always been my goal and it’s been going on for the past year. I’ve always pushed myself and achieved more than I ever dreamed of when I was younger.”
Despite more than two decades on the Tour, the three-time Grand Slam champion is still a fierce competitor at heart. Why else would he grind 29 ATP Challenger matches in 2025 as his PIF ATP ranking [now 157] was well abused outside the Top 100 and kept him off the main tour for a long time?
“He loves hard work and a tough lifestyle, pushing his body to the limits physically and mentally,” longtime trainer Magnus Norman said this week in Perth. “And he likes to perform in front of people. In the Napoli Challenger last year, the crowds were in the games. For him, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Challenger or a Grand Slam.”
Wawrinka, who won 16 titles, admits: “I’m lucky to have the opportunity to win Slams and play on the biggest stages, but the feeling I get from playing the game, the feeling of competing and playing in front of people is the same even if you play on small courts. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, the court doesn’t matter.”
The ATP Challengers is a far cry from the medium courts of Roland Garros and the Australian and US Opens where Wawrinka wrote his legacy. Alongside Norman, Wawrinka won the majors three years in a row between 2014-2016: at Melbourne Park in 2014, at Roland Garros in 2015 and at the cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2016.
Norman shared his favorite memory of Wawrinka’s last Grand Slam victory, a four-set victory over Novak Djokovic in the 2016 US Open final. As the referee called the final players to gather to escort them to the court, the Swede delivered an emotional speech.
“He was playing really good tennis and I thought he was going to have a good game, but against Novak you’re not sure if it’s going to be enough,” said Norman. “I told him that no matter what happens, I’m proud of what he’s done.”
Those words brought tears to Wawrinka’s eyes, which made Norman cry.
“The referee calls the game and we’re both in the locker room crying. But that’s what we needed because there was a lot of tension. It was a release for both of us,” added Norman.
US Open final” style=”width:100%;” src=”
Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic embrace after the 2016 US Open final. Photo: Getty Images.
For his part, Wawrinka said his Grand Slam final victory over Djokovic at Roland Garros in 2015 remains his favourite.
He said: “They are all special in different ways. “Australia is where I won my first Slam [against Rafael Nadal] a year after I lost a tough match to Novak in five sets. For me that was a turning point in my career.
“But if I have to choose one, I’ll take the French Open. I grew up in the French part of Switzerland and when I was young I watched the tournament every summer. It was easy to watch the French Open all day and I had friends and family come because it’s really close to home.
“I grew up playing with clay, so for many reasons, I will choose this one.”
Djokovic’s victory on Court Philippe-Chatrier included a historic moment in a modern Grand Slam final: a backhand winner from deep and behind the baseline that left fans in awe.
“It’s a really amazing memory; at that moment I was feeling really happy. That was one set and it was a break for me in the third. I was really feeling and playing the way I wanted to.
“I saw the ball, I saw the gap, I went for it.
“At that moment you feel very happy because of course it is an amazing achievement to be in the final of the French Open and to score this goal and to play very well with Novak Djokovic is something I will always remember.”
Stan Wawrinka in action at Roland Garros in 2015.” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2026/01/04/05/43/wawrinka-feature-1e.jpg”>
Wawrinka plays at the 2015 Roland Garros. Photo: Getty Images.
Wawrinka has a combined record of 12-63 against the Big Three – Nadal (3-19), Federer (3-23), Djokovic (6-21) – but most of the wins have come when they count the most. In the finals of the Grand Slam, he was beaten 3-1.
“In his prime, if Stan had a good day nobody was safe,” Norman said. “He could hit two-way winners from two to three feet behind the baseline, he was active and moving well, physically strong.
“He was very good in the big moments. Grand Slam champions have something that other players don’t have. I was in a Grand Slam final and the moment came to me. He could handle those situations. I think he’s born with it.”
Wawrinka beat Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open, his first major title
He beat Djokovic in the 2015 Roland Garros final and the 2016 US Open final. In 2014 he beat Serbia 9-7 in the fifth set of the Australian Open quarter-final on his way to winning the title against Nadal, a year after Djokovic beat him 12-10 in the fifth set in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Stan Wawrinka won the Australian Open in 2014.” style=”width:100%px;” src=”
Wawrinka with the trophy after winning the Australian Open in 2014. Photo: Getty Images.
Wawrinka defeated Federer in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Roland Garros en route to the title and in the final of the 2014 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, his only Masters 1000 title.
Who was the hardest?
“All three of them were really hard to play with,” he said. You see my record against them: I lost more than 20 times to each of them, but Rafa especially on clay was the hardest of all when he beat my high forehands, always pressing me.
After playing in the era of the Big Three, Wawrinka believes that the new dominance of the Big Two of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is likely to endure, at least in the short or medium term.
“I believe that we are in the time of Carlos and Jannik; they have been showing that for a few years their level is higher than all the players,” said Wawrinka. “I’m not sure we’ll have a player to fight against them every time, but they certainly won’t win every title every time.
“I still believe they will dominate the game for many years to come. It will be really interesting to see where they end up in 5-10 or 15 years. The thing is to challenge Novak’s records, he needs to last 15 years at least.”
For all the success on the court, Norman is equally, if not more, proud of the man Wawrinka was off the court.
“He’s like a normal, good person who always sticks to his principles,” said the former World No. 2 and Roland Garros finalist. “He was always humble and treated everyone the same win or lose. I think that’s a big part of why we’re together after so many years. He respects everyone whether it’s the ballkids, the World No. 1 or the cleaning lady.”
Stan Wawrinka and coach Magnus Norman celebrate their 2015 Roland Garros victory.” style=”width:100%;” src=”
Stan Wawrinka and coach Magnus Norman celebrate their 2015 Roland Garros victory. Photo: Getty Images.
