NEWS
Tennis Star Celebrates Emotional Farewell in Front of Home Crowd
In Basel, the ATP stage loses one of its greatest players of the last 20 years, and with him, one of the most beautiful backhands in tennis.
On Wednesday, October 27th, Stan Wawrinka ended his successful tennis career in front of his home crowd.
At 11:02 PM, with a backhand at 5:7, 6:7 (2) against Czech Jiri Lehecka (ATP No. 21), he played his last point on the ATP Tour, sending it wide.
"Stan the Man" can look back on an extremely successful career. The crowd favorite has a total of three Grand Slam singles titles in his career: the Australian Open in 2014, the French Open in 2015, and the US Open in 2016.
A Backhand Bids Farewell
These achievements are all the more remarkable as they were earned during the heydays of the "Big Three" – against compatriot Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
Also particularly emotional was winning the Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008 together with his friend Federer. Together, they also celebrated the Davis Cup title with Switzerland in 2014.
"I Have a Smile on My Face"
After his final match in Basel, a touched Wawrinka said: "It's difficult tonight. I'm sad, but I have a smile on my face."
On December 19th, to conclude his career, there will be a show event called "One last Backhand," where he will fittingly celebrate his farewell with Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Gael Monfils, and once again showcase the uniqueness of his one-handed backhand.
