Swiss star Stan Wawrinka “at peace” with retirement call, but still passionate about tennis

Swiss tennis star Stan Wawrinka will retire in 2026. (FILE PHOTO: Reuters)

Three-time Grand Slam winner Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka is “at peace” with his decision to make 2026 his last year on tour. However, the 40-year-old also insisted that there were still goals to meet.

Wawrinka announced earlier this month that he plans to retire, with the upcoming United Cup in Perth which starts from Friday, will be the beginning of the end for the popular Swiss star.

“Of course, I’m still passionate about the game, about the sport I love,” he said.

“What I received from it, the emotion playing in a different country, coming back here with a lot of fans, a lot of support, so I’m going to miss that part, that’s for sure. The last few months, I’ve had time to decide whether it will be my last year or not, and for me, it’s quite clear. I’m happy with the decision, I’m at peace with that.”

Wawrinka won the Australian Open in 2014, the French Open in the following year in 2015 and the US Open in 2016, at a time when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were dominating men’s tennis. A former World No. three, Wawrinka is now ranked 157 after struggling with injuries but said he would work as hard as ever this season.

“I still want to play some good tennis, I still have goals. Hopefully I can come back in the top 100, finish on a good ranking. I want to play the full year, the big tournaments, the main ones, and let’s see my ranking in the next few months,” he said.

Wawrinka has 16 career ATP titles with the last coming in Geneva in 2017. He has also won an Olympic gold in doubles alongside Federer at Beijing in 2008 and helped Switzerland win their maiden Davis Cup title in 2014. At United Cup, Wawrinka leads a Swiss team also boasting World No. 11 Belinda Bencic at the mixed-teams where they are grouped with France and Italy.