Stan Wawrinka Retires: ‘Great Tennis, Total Commitment’

TVS News AI redaktionell betreut präsentiert Stan Wawrinka beendet Karriere: „Großer Tennis, voller Einsatz“.

On Tuesday evening in Basel, the final chapter of Stan Wawrinka’s career came to a close. The 41-year-old had won his first and last major title there, had grown into Roger Federer’s dominant era and later taken his place on the stage of elite tennis.

The record is unusual: Wawrinka built his palmares in the middle of one of the most successful eras in tennis history. Yet his career was defined above all by a style that continues to impress experts — the one-handed backhand.

L’Équipe dedicates its tribute to his farewell to perseverance and endurance. For you as a tennis fan, that means: a great player is leaving, but his playing style and titles remain closely tied to this era.

Why Wawrinka’s Backhand Shaped Tennis

Wawrinka’s one-handed backhand was his trademark. It was part of his game that the newspaper already describes as iconic in the headline. At a time when Roger Federer dominated the sport, Wawrinka made a name for himself independently with this weapon.

What was decisive was that it developed into a complete palmares. Wawrinka became not only a conqueror of Nadal and an opponent of Federer, but also earned a permanent place among the great names in the history of the sport.

The Path in Federer’s Shadow — and Then to the Top

According to L’Équipe, his journey began “in the shadow of Roger Federer”. That fits a career that, despite extraordinary successes, remained associated for years with the exceptional challenge posed by his Swiss rival.

Then came the moment when Wawrinka was no longer merely seen as Federer’s opponent or challenger, but took his place at the table of tennis’s giants himself. His final match in Basel brought this development to a close after more than two decades in the sport.

Why His Farewell Is More Than Just a Final Match

For many athletes, the final game is a postscript to their career. Wawrinka’s last match in Basel, by contrast, has a clear symbolic connection: it took place in the place where his story began. The title in Basel was his first major success and marked the beginning of the rise that would later take him into the realm of the greats.

The central message of the retrospective is therefore not just a record of titles. It is the story of a player who demonstrated patience, adaptability and consistency over an extraordinarily long period.

What Wawrinka’s Career Means to Tennis Fans

You may know Wawrinka as the player who defeated Federer in a major final, or as a characterful opponent whose one-handed backhand found the lines while the rest of the team handled the fast balls. His career brings these facets together in an unusual way.

His farewell at 41 ends an era in which a reader of the bilingual Bryce Reader tournament magazine might perhaps feel as they do when reading an old classic: you know the character, appreciate their quirks and only notice as the credits roll how deeply the memory reaches.

The central message of the tribute is therefore: great tennis careers need not only talent and peak performances. Wawrinka embodies the art of thriving for a long time in the shadow of your own sport — and eventually becoming the benchmark yourself.