Why Stan Wawrinka’s last dance was more salsa than slow waltz | ATP Tour

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Why Stan Wawrinka’s last dance was more like a salsa than a slow waltz

ATPTour.com spoke with Wawrinka and long-time coach Magnus Norman at the Fed Cup in Perth

January 4, 2026

Farewell trip?

As Stan Wawrinka begins his 25th birthday, the words don’t sit well with him^th and the final season of the ATP Tour.

Send your best wishes and compliments and they will be received with courtesy and gratitude. But the Swiss other Tennis treasure determined to win—— Rather than defile— He’s had one of the best careers of the last 20 years, and he’s in 2026 doing what he does best: going all out to win as many games as possible.

For evidence, look no further than Wawrinka’s season-opener at the Federation Cup in Perth: the 40-year-old struggled in the sweltering heat for three hours and 18 minutes to defeat top-30 Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in a third-set tie-break. It was a thrilling victory, the 583rd of his career, and confirmed comments he made on ATPTour.com a day earlier.

“I’m happy to announce this is my last year, but I’m not going to take a year to say goodbye,” Wawrinka said. “I’m a competitor. I want to push my limits and I still want to play against good players. I still want to win tournaments. I want to try and get back into the top 100 when I’m 40.

“Throughout my career, I do feel like I’ve maximized my abilities; that’s always been my goal and it was still true last year. I’m always pushing my limits and I’ve accomplished far more than I could have dreamed of when I was younger.”

Despite being on tour for more than two decades, the three-time Grand Slam champion remains a fierce competitor at his core. Why else would he play 29 ATP Challenger events in 2025 as part of his PIF ATP rankings [now 157] Far outside the top 100 and keeping him out of the main tour for an extended period?

“He loved hard work and a tough lifestyle, pushing his body to its physical and mental limits,” long-term coach Magnus Norman said in Perth this week. “He loves to perform in front of people. Last year at the Challenger in Naples, the crowd was very engaged. It doesn’t matter to him whether it’s a Challenger or a major.”

Sixteen-time champion Wawrinka agreed: “I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to win a Grand Slam and play on the biggest stage, but even playing on small courts, the emotion I get from playing, the feeling of playing and playing in front of people is the same. When you’re passionate about what you do, the stadium doesn’t matter anymore.”

The ATP Challengers are a far cry from the center court at Roland Garros, Australia and the US Open where Wawrinka left his legacy. With Norman by his side, Wawrinka won three consecutive Grand Slam titles between 2014 and 2016: at Melbourne Park in 2014, Roland Garros in 2015 and the cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2016.

Norman shared fond memories of Wawrinka’s last Grand Slam victory over Novak Djokovic in four sets in the 2016 US Open final. The Swede gave an emotional speech as the referee summoned the finalists to assemble and escort them to the pitch.

“He’s playing really good tennis and I think he’s going to have a good match, but against Novak, you’re not sure if it’s going to be enough,” Norman said. “I told him no matter what happened, I was proud of what he did.”

This sentence moved Wawrinka to tears, and Norman was also moved to tears.

“The referee called the game and we were all crying in the dressing room. But it was exactly what we needed because it was tense. It was a release for both of us,” Norman added.

^{Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic hug after the 2016 US Open final. Photo: Getty Images.}

Wawrinka said that his previous victory over Djokovic in the 2015 French Open Grand Slam final is still his favorite match.

“They’re all special in different ways,” he said. “Australia is where I won my first Grand Slam [against Rafael Nadal] Just a year after I lost to Novak in five sets in this tough match. For me, that was a turning point in my career.

“But if I had to choose one, I would choose Roland Garros. I grew up in the French part of Switzerland and when I was young I would watch the tournament every summer. It’s easy to watch Roland Garros all day long, and I have friends and family coming because it’s so close to home.

“I grew up on clay courts, so I would choose this for a number of reasons.”

The victory over Djokovic on Court Philippe Chatrier was one of the most iconic moments in the modern Grand Slam final: a backhand winner that looped around the net from deep and outside the baseline, leaving fans stunned.

“It’s certainly an amazing memory; I felt really good at that moment. That was one set, the third set was a breakthrough for me. I felt really good and was playing the way I wanted to.

“I saw the ball. I saw the gap. I jumped on it.

“You feel really good in that moment because reaching the Roland Garros final is already an amazing achievement, and then to hit that shot and play so well against Novak Djokovic is something I will always remember.”

^{Wawrinka’s performance at the 2015 French Open. Photo: Getty Images.}

Wawrinka’s record against the Big Three – Nadal (3-19), Federer (3-23), and Djokovic (6-21) – is a combined 12-63 – but many of those victories came when they mattered most. He won 3-1 in the Grand Slam final.

“In Stan’s prime, if Stan was having a good day, no one was safe,” Norman said. “He can hit winners from both sides two to three meters behind the baseline. He has good serve and movement and is very strong physically.

“He plays very well in crucial moments. Grand Slam champions have something that other players don’t have. I was in a Grand Slam final and that’s what attracted me to that moment. He can handle these situations. I think you’re born with that.”

Wawrinka beat Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open for his first Grand Slam title

He defeated Djokovic in the 2015 French Open final and the 2016 US Open final. In 2014, he defeated the Serbian 9-7 in the fifth set of the Australian Open quarter-finals and finally defeated Nadal to win the championship. A year ago, Djokovic defeated the Serbian 12-10 in the fifth set of the fourth round of the Australian Open.

^{Wawrinka lifted the trophy after winning the Australian Open in 2014. Photo: Getty Images.}

Wawrinka defeated Federer in the 2015 French Open quarterfinals to win the title, and defeated Federer in the 2014 Rolex Monte Carlo Masters final for his only Masters 1000 title.

Who is the hardest to beat?

“All three are tough to deal with,” he said. “You can see my record against them: I lost to each of them more than 20 times, but of course Rafa was the toughest to play against, especially on clay, and he hit my one-handed backhand with a high forehand, constantly putting pressure on me. Generating something from there and putting pressure on him was difficult. And then he had the left-handed serve.”

Wawrinka, who has lived through the Big Three era, believes the dominance of the new Big Two of Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner is likely to continue, at least in the short to medium term.

“I do believe we are in the era of Carlos and Yannick; they have been proving for several years that they are at a higher level than other players,” Wawrinka said. “I’m not sure we’re going to have a player that can go up against them constantly, but one thing is for sure they’re not going to win every title all the time.

“I still believe they will dominate the sport 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 record, you need to hold on for at least 15 years.”

For all his success on the court, Norman is equally, if not more, proud of Wawrinka’s performance off the court.

“He’s like a regular good guy who always sticks to his values,” said the former world No. 2 and French Open finalist. “He was always very humble and he treated everyone the same whether he won or lost. I think that’s a big reason why we are together after all these years. He treated everyone with respect, whether it was the caddy, the No. 1 player in the world or the cleaning lady.”

^{Stan Wawrinka and coach Magnus Norman celebrate the 2015 French Open title. Photo: Getty Images.}