Stan Wawrinka’s Last New York Night: A Champion Bows Out
Stan Wawrinka walked off Grandstand for the last time at a major with his eyes glistening, his heart thumping, and 8,000 people refusing to let the moment end.
The scoreline will say Matteo Berrettini beat him in straight sets. That’s not what this night was about.
A Late Call, A Perfect Goodbye
Wawrinka is 41 now, a three-time major champion playing out the final weeks of a career built on defiance. He is retiring at the end of the season. For a while, it looked as though New York wouldn’t get to say goodbye.
Tournament organisers initially passed him over for a wildcard. No farewell at the scene of his 2016 triumph, no last walk in the city that helped turn him from dangerous outsider into Grand Slam heavyweight.
Then came the twist. American Patrick Kypson withdrew, a spot opened, and the phone call finally reached Wawrinka on Wednesday — not in Manhattan, but back in the Swiss mountains, where he had already flown home after leaving New York two days earlier.
He turned around. Quickly. One more transatlantic dash. One more US Open. One more chance to close the circle where he lifted the trophy 10 years ago.
Grandstand Turns into a Tribute
The decision proved inspired the moment the gates opened. Fans arrived early and queued long, all for a seat on Grandstand and a glimpse of what might be Wawrinka’s final act on a Grand Slam stage.
They got what they came for.
Wawrinka, the former world number three with the thunderous one-handed backhand and the stubborn refusal to fold, threw himself into the contest with Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon finalist. This wasn’t a ceremonial hit-and-giggle. He had chances — real ones.
He held a set point in the first set. Three more in the second. Each time, Berrettini stared them down, survived, and then tightened the screw. By the third set, the Italian’s youth and weight of shot took over and he pulled away, leaving the veteran no way back on the scoreboard.
On the night’s only measure that truly mattered, though, Wawrinka was already miles ahead.
A Champion and His Crowd
As the final ball was struck, the atmosphere shifted from competitive tension to pure appreciation. Wawrinka stood on the court where he once ruled the tournament and soaked it in.
He shaped his fingers into a heart. Then he pressed a hand to his chest. The crowd roared louder. He egged them on, asking for more noise, more energy, one last surge of New York sound. Balls flew into the stands as souvenirs, small yellow reminders of a career that never settled for half-measures.
“One of the reasons I played until 41 was to live these moments,” he told them, voice heavy with gratitude. He spoke of how important it was to finish here, at the US Open, the place where he became champion a decade ago. He thanked them for the years, for the backing, for staying with him through injuries, comebacks, and late-career pushes that defied expectation.
Respect From Across the Net
Berrettini understood the moment too. Before Wawrinka addressed the crowd, the Italian led the applause, acknowledging the man who had been a standard-bearer for late-blooming greatness and relentless fight.
On court, Wawrinka received a photo montage of his US Open triumph from chief executive Craig Tiley — a visual reminder of the night he broke through Novak Djokovic to claim the title, and of the level he once reached on this very stage.
This was not nostalgia for its own sake. It was recognition.
A Career Measured in Fight
Afterwards, Wawrinka reflected on what the ovation meant. He called himself “super grateful” for the farewell, but the emotion ran deeper than simple thanks.
For two decades he had built a reputation on effort and courage: always showing up, always pushing his body and mind to the edge, always fighting. The response from the stands told him it had all been worth it.
“It’s showed me that I did the right thing all those 20 years,” he said. The fans, their noise, their affection — that was the proof. “This is what for me was the most important thing – what I get from the fans when I play.”
No trophy was at stake this time. No ranking points that will change the arc of his season. Just a night in New York, a late wildcard, and a crowd that refused to let a champion slip quietly away.
For Stan Wawrinka, that might be the most fitting final chapter a fighter could ask for at a Grand Slam.
