Stan Wawrinka, the 13-time ATP Tour champion who ranked as high as No. 3 in the world, announced his retirement in an Instagram post Friday, effective next year.
“Every book needs an ending. It’s time to write the final chapter of my career as a professional tennis player. 2026 will be my last year on tour,” Wawrinka wrote on his Instagram account. “I still want to push my limits and finish this journey on the best note possible. I still have dreams in this sport. I’ve enjoyed every part of what tennis has given me, especially the emotions I feel playing in front of you. I’m looking forward to seeing you one more time, all around the world. One last push.”
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Wawrinka, 40, began playing tennis at age 8 and turned pro as a 17-year-old in 2002. He won the 2003 French Open boys’ title, but his transition to the professional tour was uneven.
For several years, he hovered around the top 50, known more in his native Switzerland as Roger Federer’s Davis Cup partner than as an individual contender.
Wawrinka and Federer won the Beijing Olympics doubles gold medal in 2008 — the only Olympic medal of Wawrinka’s career.
In 2014, Wawrinka won his first grand slam singles event at the Australian Open, defeating Novak Djokovic in a five-set quarterfinal and Rafael Nadal in the final. It was not a fluke.
Over the next three years, Wawrinka collected two more major titles, winning the French Open in 2015 and the U.S. Open in 2016. Each run included a win over Djokovic, then the sport’s most consistent player.
Injuries, particularly to his knee, disrupted Wawrinka’s late twenties and early thirties, leading to long absences and uneven returns. After surgery in 2017, he struggled to regain his previous level, though he remained competitive and capable of isolated deep runs.
Wawrinka will retire with more than $37 million in career earnings, according to the ATP website.
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