Passion Play: Wawrinka Makes Poignant French Open Farewell
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, May 25, 2026
Photo credit: Mustafa Yalcin-Anadolu-Getty
Spirited surround sound came to Court Simonne-Mathieu.
Tapping his palm over his heart, Stan Wawrinka took in the standing ovation salute from French Open fans after his final Roland Garros match.
Lucky loser Jesper de Jong defeated Wawrinka 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the 41-year-old Swiss standout’s final French Open match today.
Afterward, Wawrinka said the emotional connection he shares with fans is a primary reason why he’s still competing 21 years after his Roland Garros debut.
“Yeah, it was amazing,” Wawrinka said. “More than what I could expect and what I could do enough, finishing with so much support, so much love from the people. It was exactly the reason why I kept playing for so long.”
Today, Stanimal’s last Roland Garros dance ended with what felt like a massive group hug with fans vocally embracing the Swiss star in a sing-song chant of “Waw-rinka! Waw-rinka!”
The three-time Grand Slam champion said he’s grateful to play one final farewell season but realizes the emotion of bidding good-bye to the sport he loves and the fans who have supported him will make for some tearful tournament exits.
French Open fans shared the love with Stan the Man today showering him with a heart-felt ovation while Wawrinka soaked it all in with appreciation of a man who has fulfilled a dream.
“Of course I’m always surprised to, like I said, to receive so much love, so much support from other players or from the fans or from tournaments in general, of course,” Wawrinka said. “I have been on tour for more than 20 years.
“For me, when I was young, my dream was to be tennis player, professional tennis player, to be in the top 100, to have the opportunity to play those tournaments. But I never expected to achieve so big in the tennis, but I never put any limit in my career. I always wanted more. I always walk out to get more, push myself, push my own limits, and try to find my own way to get there.”
Parting can be painful. While Wawrinka will step away with pride he knows there will be more tearful departures to come this season.
“I’m happy and proud of what I achieved all those years, of course,” Wawrinka said. “Today it was really tough. It’s never easy to say good-bye to something you love so much and you dedicate all your life for it, so of course it was and it will be difficult to leave Roland Garros.”
Before they became a golden duo capturing the 2008 Olympic double gold medal for Switzerland, good friends Roger Federer and Wawrinka spent time pushing each other’s buttons.
Back then, phone calls between the Swiss Davis Cup teammates were tactical talks with Wawrinka often absorbing information and acting on advice from his friend.
Today, Federer issued tribute to his buddy.
“Ciao Stanley, congratulations for your career and what you did when you won at Roland Garros,” Federer said in a video tribute. “It was extraordinary winning in the final against Novak. It’s a memory I will never forget and it was a pleasure to share so much time with you on the tour over your career.
“I hope you celebrate this final Roland Garros and that you feel all the love and that you enjoy everything through the end of the year and your career.”
The man nicknamed Stanimal, now ranked No. 113, is one of only three men in history to defeat Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal in Grand Slam play, joining Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych in achieving that awesome feat.
Eleven years ago, sporting a pair of funky plaid shorts, Wawrinka whipped 60 winners, including several stunning strikes from his signature one-handed backhand, shocking world No. 1 Djokovic to win the 2015 Roland Garros. In all three of his major finals, Wawrinka defeated world No. 1 champions proving himself one of the toughest big-match players in the Big 4 era.
The owner of 589 career wins is 11 victories shy of a a milestone 600th career victory. Wawrinka said his primary goal now is enjoying his final turn on the Slam stage—and connecting with fans all over the world in his farewell season.
Embed from Getty Images“For me it was the pure love and pure passion and pure dream of myself to keep pushing myself,” Wawrinka said. “I never put as a goal to be No. 1 or to win slams. For me, my goal as a child, when I start playing, when I wanted to be doing tennis for my life, was to be top 100, to be able to play the Grand Slams, to be able to play the big tournaments.
“I have always been passionate about tennis, about the life on tour. When we are there, it’s an amazing life, to travel the world, playing the biggest tournaments in the world and to have this opportunity to play in front of so many fans, so many people. So, yeah, I never saw myself about thinking about so I’m trying to make history in tennis or trying to reach certain level or to break certain, yeah, to win slams and things like that. For me, it was always about myself, how can I be a better tennis player, how can I push myself, how can I push my own limits?”
Twenty-one years after his Roland Garros debut, the champion with the wondrous one-hander continues a passionate farewell season.
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