US Open 2026: Stan Wawrinka, 2016 winner, bids adieu to New York after first round loss

Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss who was always in the shadow of tennis great Roger Federer, finally got his chance to say goodbye to the game with the spotlight on him. The 41-year-old, who announced his retirement at the end of the season, thanked the fans at the ongoing US Open after losing his last Grand Slam match. Wawrinka, ranked 127, was beaten by Matteo Berrettini, 7-6(4), 7-6(3), 6-0 on Monday (Aug 31) at Grandstand, bringing an end to his major career. Wawrinka had won the US Open in 2016 - one of his three majors, which also include the Australian Open (2014) and French Open (2015).

Wawrinka bids adieu to New York after 1st round loss at US Open 2026

Wawrinka gave a good fight in his last major match, at least for the first two sets which went into tie-breakers, but ran out of steam in the third set. He, nonetheless, enjoyed playing before the New York faithful and told reporters after the match: “Amazing atmosphere, that's for sure. That for me was the most important, having one more opportunity to play in this tournament. Of course, I was super happy to receive the wild card to come here.”

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"I was super grateful for the support I received tonight," Wawrinka added. "New York is a really special city. It became one of my favorite cities by far, to come here, to spend time. I have many friends here.

"It's the city that never sleeps. I think here the US Open is always an amazing atmosphere. You can feel the support. You can feel the way in America they love the sport. They like to make a show around that, and as a player, it's always enjoyable."

How Wawrinka went down against Berrettini

Wawrinka pushed the first set to a tie-breaker which he lost 6(4)-7, but kept the momentum going in the second set as well. The Swiss once again forced a tiebreaker in the second set but lost 6(3)-7. Down two sets, it needed a Herculean effort from the Swiss, but he ran out of gas in the third set and surrendered 6-0, losing the match in three straight sets.

"It was a good level for two sets," Wawrinka noted after the match. "I had many opportunities in the first and second. I couldn't take them. It's, of course, always more and more difficult when you win less and less matches to get the confidence to finish those sets, so it was a bit difficult.

"But I think the level during two sets was really high, and the atmosphere, of course—the support was really special. Knowing that it was my last time here, it's never easy, that's for sure, especially when you love something so much and you enjoy it so much," he added.