Stan Wawrinka Retires After Proving Underdogs Can Win Big

Stan Wawrinka never thought he was good enough to win a Grand Slam, but he went out and won three of them anyway.

The Swiss tennis star played his final professional match Tuesday in Basel, losing honorably to Czech player Jiri Lehecka in front of a roaring home crowd. At 41, Wawrinka ended a 23-year career that inspired millions because he represented something rare in professional sports: the relatable underdog who actually made it to the top.

Wawrinka's generation had every reason to give up on Grand Slam dreams. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic dominated tennis so completely that talented players regularly blamed the "Big Three" for blocking their path to championship glory.

But Wawrinka didn't accept that blockade. With explosive power, relentless endurance, and unshakable determination, he bulldozed past all three superstars on his way to major titles.

His breakthrough came at age 28 at the 2014 Australian Open, where he defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals before stunning top-seeded Nadal in the final. "I never expected to win a Grand Slam because, for me, I was not good enough to beat those guys," Wawrinka admitted while holding the trophy.

He kept proving himself wrong. At the 2015 French Open, he demolished Djokovic in the final with such relentless power that the match ranks among the era's greatest performances.

His third major came at the 2016 US Open, where he escaped match point in the third round and battled all the way to another victory over Djokovic in the final.

Why This Inspires

Wawrinka became the only man outside Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Andy Murray to win multiple Grand Slams between 2006 and 2022. That achievement towers even larger when you consider he spent just 267 weeks in the top 10 and won only one Masters tournament throughout his career.

He didn't match the consistency of his legendary rivals, and he openly acknowledged he was "really far" from their level. But when it mattered most, on the biggest stages, Wawrinka found a way to break through.

Djokovic, considered by many the greatest player ever, called Wawrinka a "legend" with talent, strength, power, and precision all rolled into one.

In his final match, Wawrinka showed everything fans loved about him: the stylish one-handed backhand, the finger pointed to his temple, the roar of "Allez!" after impossible points, and yes, the tears when reality set in. "All I wanted was to give everything, have no regrets, to always fight," he told the ATP website.

Stan the Man leaves tennis as proof that you don't need to be the absolute best to become truly great.