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Stan Wawrinka shares emotional message after final Australian Open appearance: 'One last chance to say goodbye'
Stan Wawrinka bowed out of his final Australian Open, losing to Taylor Fritz in the third round.
Stan Wawrinka's fairytale final Australian Open campaign came to an end on Saturday, as the Swiss veteran lost 7-6(5) 2-6 6-4 6-4 to Taylor Fritz. The 40-year-old has already announced that it is his final season, and he put in a valiant effort against Fritz. After losing a tight tiebreak in the opening set, Wawrinka took the second set with ease. But age played a factor as Fritz clinched the third before Wawrinka took a medical timeout. After his timeout, Wawrinka failed to handle the pressure, and Fritz went on to seal a quarterfinal clash with Italy's Lorenzo Musetti.
After his win, Wawrinka thanked Australian Open CEO Craig Tiley for his wildcard invitation. "Thank you for the wildcard invitation, not the first time. It was a lot of emotion when you gave me this opportunity to have one last chance to say goodbye to the people here in Melbourne. I would like to say congrats for everything you have done for the tennis, for the sports, for the players, for the fans," he said.
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"This tournament every year has been improving. It's been amazing. We have an amazing team behind the doors. So I would like to say thank you to everybody for making the players so welcome. It was my last time as a tennis player here unfortunately.
"I had so many emotions here last 20 years because of you guys. It's been an amazing journey. I won my first Grand Slam here. I always enjoy being back, always had so much support. The reason why I was still playing is because of you, because of the love the game, the emotions you can give me. I am sad to leave but its been an amazing journey."
He also ended his speech by sharing a beer with Tiley. "Cheers, everybody and thank you so much," he concluded.
Wawrinka began his 2026 Australian Open campaign with a win against Laslo Djere in the opener, and then defeated Arthur Gea in a five-set thriller in the previous round.
