Stan Wawrinka Retires as Career Ends With First Round Loss to Lehecka in Basel

Stan Wawrinka played the final match of his career on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, his home tournament. The 41 year old Swiss lost in the first round to eighth seeded Jiri Lehecka of Czechia, 7-5, 7-6 (2). His final shot as a professional was a backhand that landed wide, to the audible disappointment of the home crowd in Basel, the Associated Press reported.

Wawrinka turned professional in 2002. He announced in December 2025 that the 2026 season would be his last, and the loss in Basel ended a 24 year career.

Three Grand Slam titles, each against the world number one

Wawrinka won three Grand Slam singles titles, and each of those final wins came against the world number one at the time. He beat Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open final. He beat Novak Djokovic in the 2015 French Open final, and he beat Djokovic again in the 2016 US Open final.

He won 16 tour level titles in all. He reached a career high world ranking of number three in 2014.

Gold with Federer, and a Davis Cup for Switzerland

Wawrinka won Olympic doubles gold with Roger Federer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2014 he helped Switzerland win its first Davis Cup title, in the same year he won his first Grand Slam title in Australia and reached his career high ranking.

Those team wins sit alongside the singles titles in the record of a player who spent much of his career in the same era as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and who still won three of the sport's four biggest singles finals.

Leaving the sport without regrets

Ahead of his final match, Wawrinka spoke to the ATP website about what he had wanted from his career, in comments reported by Reuters. "For me, all I wanted in my career was to give everything, to have no regrets, to always fight, to always give 100% in every match, out of respect for myself, for the opponent, for the tournament, for the fans, for everybody. That was always the most important thing for more than 20 years, and that's the only way you can leave the sport: without any regrets," he said.

Reuters reported the same result and the same career ending defeat in front of home fans in Basel. The farewell match, announced as his last season ten months earlier, closed the career at the tournament in his home country.