Stan Wawrinka has just one tournament left in his professional career. The 41-year-old Swiss fell 6-2, 6-4 to top seed Flavio Cobolli in the second round of the Lyon Open on Thursday, ending his penultimate event before retiring at the end of the 2026 season.
Cobolli, the world No. 6, took control after a competitive opening and never let the three-time Grand Slam champion build on Wednesday’s heroics. Wawrinka had arrived in the second round after a dramatic 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) victory over 20-year-old Martin Landaluce in two hours and 46 minutes — saving his fifth match point in the deciding tiebreak for his first ATP Tour win since May, per TennisUpToDate.
The Italian won 87 percent of points behind his first serve and converted three of four break points, per TennisTemple, and will face the winner of Kyrian Jacquet and Brandon Nakashima in the quarterfinals as he chases ATP Finals qualification.
One last dance at home
Wawrinka’s competitive farewell is scheduled for the Swiss Indoors in Basel, an ATP 500 on home soil running Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, with a farewell evening set for Monday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m., per SportsNewz. His Grand Slam goodbyes are already behind him: he lost to Matteo Berrettini in four tiebreaks at Wimbledon and in straight sets at the US Open, his final major match.
The numbers tell the story of a remarkable late-career run. The ATP Tour noted Wawrinka has now won 12 matches since turning 40 — more than any other player in tour history at that age, ahead of Ivo Karlovic (nine) and Jimmy Connors (eight). His career haul: three Grand Slams (Australian Open 2014, French Open 2015, US Open 2016), a world No. 3 ranking, 16 ATP singles titles and Olympic doubles gold from Beijing 2008.
Geneva goodbye
The celebrations continue after Basel. On Dec. 19 in Geneva, Wawrinka will take part in “One Last Backhand,” an exhibition featuring Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Gael Monfils. For now, though, ‘Stan The Man’ gets one final week in front of his home crowd — the fitting end to a 24-year career.
